JAPAN: Japan's ruling party chooses Yasuo Fukuda to be the next prime minister

Japan's ruling party chooses Yasuo Fukuda, an advocate of warmer ties with Asian neighbours, to be the next prime minister, but the 71-year-old lawmaker faces a likely policy deadlock in a divided parliament. Japan's ruling party on Sunday (September 23) picked Yasuo Fukuda, who seeks warmer ties with Asian neighbours, to succeed Shinzo Abe as prime minister in an effort to revive party fortunes and fill a political vacuum. The Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) main factions rallied behind Fukuda after Abe's resignation in hopes the 71-year-old lawmaker, seen as a competent moderate, can bring stability after a year marked by scandals and an election rout. The bespectacled Fukuda, looking solemn, bowed to applause from LDP lawmakers and officials after the result of the vote was announced at the party's Tokyo headquarters. Fukuda won 330 of the 527 valid votes cast against 197 for rival Taro Aso, a hawkish former foreign minister. There was one invalid vote. He is set to become a prime minister next week by virtue of the ruling camp's huge majority in parliament's lower house but will face a combative opposition in the parliament's upper chamber. "I have become leader of the party at a time when things are very severe. I aim to renew the party and regain the trust of the people in order to make our policies work effectively," Fukuda said after the announcement of his victory. Fukuda also faces conflicting pressures to spend more to woo disaffected voters while reining in Japan's mammoth public debt. The split in parliament has raised fears of a policy deadlock at a time when Japan needs action on pensions and tax reform as a wave of retiring baby boomers add to welfare spending. Critics of Fukuda, chief cabinet secretary under Abe's popular predecessor Junichiro Koizumi, say he will be beholden to the LDP's old guard, backpedal on vital economic reforms, and lack boldness on the diplomatic front. Fans say his milder style will be welcome after Koizumi's five years of combative reforms and 12 months of scandals and upsets under Abe. Fukuda has pledged to pay more heed to rural regions and other sectors hurt by reforms begun under Koizumi. But he has also acknowledged the limits on government spending given a public debt already equivalent to one-and-a-half times Japan's gross domestic product. Abe, who turned 53 on Friday (September 21), stunned allies and foes alike by announcing his decision to resign just days after staking his career on extending a Japanese naval mission in support of U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan. Fukuda said he still had a few days to decide how to deal with the same issue that brought Abe down. "I will decide whether to pass a new anti-terrorism law or postpone the law when I am in a position to do so," he said adding that he intends to create a dialogue with the opposition Democrats on this issue. Close ally Washington is pressing Tokyo to continue refueling coalition ships in the Indian Ocean, but Japan's opposition parties, which can delay laws with their upper house majority, want to end the mission. Although an advocate of a less U.S.-centric diplomatic stance, Fukuda has said Japan needs to continue the mission. On the streets of Tokyo, many Japanese watched the elections live on national television. Reactions to Fukuda's victory were mixed. "Japanese politics are in a mess right now and I am hoping that Fukuda will be able to bring the situation at least back to normal," said 34-year-old Tokyo resident Nobukazu Suzu'ishi. "I don't really hold much hope for Fukuda. Koizumi arrived on the scene a few years ago because the people were looking for a change from the old LDP ways, but now I think politics will return to those times," added Tomofumi Awada, another 34-year-old Tokyo resident. Fukuda will be chosen prime minister on Tuesday (September 25) by virtue of the ruling camp's huge majority in parliament's lower house, but he will face a combative opposition that won control of parliament's upper chamber in an election in July.

ITN Source | September 23, 2007

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