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Aso takes lead in race for Japan PM
2008-09-21
TOKYO (AFP) - Outspoken conservative Taro Aso took an early lead Sunday in the race to be Japan's prime minister but the opposition vowed to wrest power, saying it was the country's "last chance" for change. Unpopular Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda quit earlier this month faced with an economy teetering on recession and a rising opposition vying for a landmark victory in general elections that could come as soon as next month. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) meets on Monday to choose among a record field of five candidates seeking to be the next prime minister. Aso, a former foreign minister who turned 68 on Saturday, swept all 18 votes that came in ahead of time from regional chapters, a party official said. Aso is seen as running strong in struggling rural areas as he has pledged to use public money to stimulate Asia's largest economy -- a break from a long push in the LDP for free-market reforms. "We have to do something for domestic demand by reviewing the tax system and other things," Aso said in a television debate with his rivals. Asked if he would draft fresh stimulus measures following Fukuda's package last month to ease the impact of high oil and food prices, Aso said: "Of course it's possible." Speculation is growing that the next prime minister will call snap elections as early as late October in the hopes that a new leadership would raise public support. Elections do not need to be held until September next year. The LDP has been in power for all but 10 months since 1955. But it lost control of the upper house of parliament last year to the opposition, which charged that LDP free-market reforms were hurting rural areas. The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan held its own election on Sunday and gave another two-year term to leader Ichiro Ozawa, 66, a veteran political tactician who was once an LDP stalwart. "We have to form a new government as soon as possible by putting an end to the (ruling) coalition," Ozawa said. "It is no exaggeration to say that this is our last chance to change Japan," he said. "A lot of people are already aware that the LDP no longer has the ability to be in power. I will stake my political career on this fight." The Fukuda government's approval rating last week stood at a mere 15.6 percent, even before the farm minister Seiichi Ota resigned in a scandal over pesticide-laced rice that was served to hospital patients and schoolchildren. Aso has admitted that the food scare may affect support for the LDP, but vowed to battle the opposition. "I am determined to knock out the DPJ in the upcoming general election, fighting as the leader of Japan," Aso told a rally late Saturday in the southwestern city of Kumamoto. Aso's rivals include Kaoru Yosano, who has accused Aso of risking Japan's long-term interests through wasteful spending. Japan has the worst public debt of any major economy. The other candidates are Yuriko Koike, seeking to be Japan's first female leader, former defence chief Shigeru Ishiba and young reformist Nobuteru Ishihara. A total of 527 LDP members can vote -- 386 members of parliament and 141 members of regional chapters. With media surveys predicting Aso would win comfortably, the focus has already shifted to the next cabinet and party line-up. Aso would keep rival Yosano as minister for fiscal and economic policy, hoping to ensure party unity ahead of elections, the Mainichi Shimbun reported. Aso is expected to tap Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura to replace him as LDP secretary general, the party's number two after the prime minister and a key official in an election, the Yomiuri Shimbun said. The Yomiuri said that former farm minister Tadamori Oshima would succeed Machimura as chief cabinet secretary, a powerful position that includes the role of government spokesman.
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