Front-runner for Japan's next PM to be picked in LDP leadership vote

Selasa, 25 September 2012 13:29

(TOKYO-Kyodo) The Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday will elect its new leader and the likely frontrunner to become Japan's next prime minister, with former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expected to be the strongest contenders.

Ishiba is believed to enjoy the firmest support of rank-and-file party members, however, Abe is considered to have greater backing from legislators, who have exclusive voting rights in the case of a runoff, which would be triggered if neither candidate were to gain a
majority in the initial ballot.

With strong endorsement from veteran lawmakers, Nobuteru Ishihara, secretary general of the main opposition party, is an outside chance to rival Abe for second place and would likewise enjoy stronger support than Ishiba among legislators in the case of a
runoff.

Ishiba's hopes of gaining the leadership therefore rely heavily on winning a majority in the first round of voting. If he were to gain overwhelming support from non-parliamentarian party members, LDP lawmakers seeking to capitalize on his popularity ahead of a looming
general election could be swayed to cast a ballot for Ishiba, who is known as a security expert.

Ishiba has received extensive media exposure as his hawkish stance on defense issues has become popular, and he has garnered public support amid souring relations between Japan and neighbors China and South Korea over territorial rows.

But the former defense minister is out of favor with party veterans, including former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, as he has previously left the LDP at various points.

Abe, known for his nationalistic views, is meanwhile subject to criticism over his September 2007 resignation as premier due to health problem after only a year in office, following the LDP's loss in the House of Councillors election in July that year.

Ishihara has been lambasted by some LDP lawmakers for having betrayed his boss, incumbent LDP chief Sadakazu Tanigaki, who decided to bow out of the party election after several days of wrangling with the party's No. 2 man, the eldest son of hawkish Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara.

Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, who has fallen sick during the presidential race, and former economic and fiscal policy minister Yoshimasa Hayashi have failed to increase voter support.

The five are vying to become LDP leader by receiving a majority of the 498 votes -- 198 from Diet members and 300 from local representatives. If no contender wins a majority in the initial round of voting, a runoff election only by lawmakers will be held between the top two vote-getters.

The presidential race is being closely watched as the winner could become Japan's prime minister in the near future, given that the LDP has gained more support than the ruling Democratic Party of Japan in many polls in the run-up to the next general election, to be
called within a year.

Nevertheless, the five candidates have failed to clarify their policy differences in the diplomatic and economic fields since the official campaign for the leadership election kicked off on Sept. 14, and debate between them has been lackluster.

With the government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who heads the DPJ, struggling to deal with tensions with China over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, all the five have expressed their eagerness to bolster ties with the United States to enhance deterrence with an eye on Beijing.

The relationship between Tokyo and Washington has deteriorated since former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of the DPJ sought to move the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station out of Okinawa Prefecture, a proposal that ran against the Japan-U.S. agreement reached in 2006.

Earlier in September, Noda's government nationalized the Senkakus, claimed by China and Taiwan, which are called Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai, respectively.

Regarding how to boost the economy, most contenders pledged to speed up efforts to rebuild areas ravaged by the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, combat the country's prolonged deflation and curb the yen's strength versus other major currencies.

The five, all of them from political families, have also criticized Noda's government for seeking to phase out nuclear power in the 2030s, arguing it would cause Japan to relinquish its world-leading position in nuclear power development.

While adopting a cautious stance toward Japan's participation in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, they have backed Noda's decision to double the 5 percent sales tax rate by 2015 to cope with the nation's swelling social security costs.

In August, Noda, Tanigaki and Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of the LDP's ally the New Komeito party, agreed on a deal to enact legislation for tax and social security reforms in exchange for a promise from Noda to call a general election "sometime soon."

All the candidates vowed to urge Noda to dissolve the more powerful House of Representatives at an early date.