Japan's ruling party is to elect a new leader Sunday from two
candidates, former chief Cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda and party
secretary general Taro Aso. Since the winner is assured of the
premiership, the election result is expected to largely affect
Japan's future policies.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election was
called following Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's sudden resignation on
Sept. 12. In the past several days, Fukuda and Aso have been making
campaign speeches and presenting platforms to gain support from
public as well as fellow LDP lawmakers.
Media surveys showed that the 71-year-old Fukuda has the upper
hand both among people and within the party. He has secured support
from eight of the nine LDP fractions except for Aso's own.
According to the latest survey by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper,
213 LDP lawmakers say they would vote for Fukuda, compared with 45
for Aso.
On Sunday's voting, 387 eligible LDP lawmakers will each cast
one ballot, while the 47 prefectural chapters will each give three
votes to reflect the choices of rank-and-file members. The
candidate who receives over half of the total 528 votes wins. If no
one receives more than half of the votes, the lawmakers of the
lower and upper houses will vote again to decide a winner.
The Japanese parliament is scheduled to vote for a new prime
minister on Tuesday after the current Cabinet resigns en masse.
Analysts believe that the 66-year-old Aso is unlikely to gather
enough votes even though he has endeavored to win support from
local LDP representatives. Fukuda, in contrast, will probably win
an overwhelming victory.
As the LDP controls the House of the Representatives, which has
the final say in choosing the prime minister, the winner of LDP
presidency practically also captures the premiership of the nation.
During the campaign, Fukuda and Aso expressed roughly similar views
on domestic policy, but differed in foreign strategies.
The structural reform, pushed by former Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi, has resulted in a widening gap between central and local
areas, between different industries and even within the same
industry. Both Fukuda and Aso said they would work to eliminate the
negative impacts of the reforms, though with different focuses.
Fukuda said he would solve the problems one by one and build a
country where the young see hopes and the old feel safe, stressing
that reforms cannot be implemented without public confidence. Aso,
on the other hand, calls for the importance of helping ailing
regional economics and achieving sustainable and steady economic
growth.
On foreign policies, Fukuda called for balance between Japan's
alliance with the United States and Japan's membership in Asia. He
said that the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and the abduction
issue should be handled through dialogue. However, Aso holds to
continue a tough stance on the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK) over nuclear and abduction issues.
Fukuda attaches importance to relations with neighboring
countries, while Aso pursues reinforcement of ties with countries
with similar value systems, analysts said.
Fukuda was chief Cabinet secretary in former Yoshiro Mori and
Koziumi's administrations with a combined tenure of three and a
half years, the longest among top government spokespersons.
Known for his political and crisis management capabilities,
Fukuda is also seen as a strong rival by the major opposition
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in that his policy platform and
personality are comparable to their leader Ichiro Ozawa.
"Both Fukuda and Ozawa give the impression of stable and safe.
If Fukuda becomes the new prime minister, it would be more
difficult for the DPJ to have the lower house dissolved and a snap
election called," a DPJ lawmaker said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2007)
