(Update 2) Fukuda Elected LDP Leader, Set to Become Prime Minister

Tokyo, Sept. 23 (Jiji Press)–Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, 71, scored a runaway victory in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election Sunday, setting the stage for his election as Japan’s next prime minister.

Fukuda garnered 330 votes, or 62.5 pct of the total of 528 votes, against 197 votes collected by his sole rival, LDP Secretary- General Taro Aso, 67.

Of the total votes, 387 were cast by LDP lawmakers and 141 by representatives from the party’s 47 prefectural chapters. Of the total, valid votes came to 527.

Fukuda, the eldest son of late former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, is now sure to be elected Japan’s new prime minister to succeed Shinzo Abe because the LDP and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito, together hold a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament.

On Tuesday, the Abe cabinet will resign en masse, and both chambers of parliament will hold votes to name a new prime minister later in the day.

While the Lower House is certain to pick Fukuda as its nominee, Ichiro Ozawa, president of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, is expected to win nomination in the House of Councillors on the back of a combined majority opposition parties obtained in the upper chamber as a result of the DPJ’s huge victory in the election in late July.

If the upper and lower chambers make the different choices, they will hold a joint committee meeting.

If no agreement is reached at the meeting, the Lower House’s decision will take precedence over that of the Upper House under a provision of the constitution. Fukuda is thus set to be elected prime minister through these procedures.

The LDP hastily arranged the presidential election after Abe abruptly announced Sept. 12 his decision to resign as prime minister to take responsibility for causing political confusion following the LDP-led ruling bloc’s crushing defeat in the July Upper House election.

The Abe administration, launched only a year ago, was continuously shaken by a series of policy mistakes, as well as scandals involving and verbal blunders by cabinet members.

Fukuda’s term of office as LDP president runs through late September 2009.

In the party race, Fukuda drew wide support from all nine LDP factions but the one led by Aso.

Upon his election as LDP president, Fukuda told party colleagues that the party now faces big challenges. Fukuda said he is determined to lead the party’s efforts to rebuild it and regain trust from people, adding that he will aim to realize the LDP’s rebirth as a party that will steadily implement policy measures.

After he is elected prime minister on Tuesday, Fukuda is expected to launch his cabinet within the day. Because parliament is in session, Fukuda is expected to reappoint many key ministers.

Ahead of the cabinet launch, Fukuda is set to pick on Monday new party executives–secretary-general, chairman of the decision- making General Council and chairman of the Policy Research Council.

A focus of attention is how Fukuda will treat Aso in the cabinet formation and reshuffle of the party posts following the two-man LDP race.

On Tuesday morning, Fukuda will hold talks with New Komeito leader Akihiro Ota. They are expected to confirm the two parties’ alliance.

The biggest issue facing the coming Fukuda administration during the ongoing extraordinary parliamentary session is whether the Maritime Self-Defense Force should be allowed to continue providing fuel to U.S. and allied warships in the Indian Ocean as part of Japan’s logistical support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism in Afghanistan.

As a special Japanese law for the naval mission is scheduled to expire on Nov. 1, the LDP-led ruling coalition hopes to enact new legislation to allow the MSDF to continue the refueling support.

On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution appreciating maritime interdiction operations in the Indian Ocean as part of the U.S.-led war. But the DPJ-led opposition camp remains opposed to the MSDF operation, overshadowing the future course of the mission.

Besides the fate of the refueling mission, Fukuda must deal with many other challenges.

On the domestic front, Fukuda needs to step up efforts to regain people’s trust in the country’s pension system that has been eroded substantially by the government’s mismanagement of tens of millions of public pension records.

He is set to speed up work to identify missing pension data while calling for talks between the ruling and opposition camps on a review of the pension system.

Fukuda is also set to consider working out measures to support elderly and other socially weak people and reduce the gap between rich and poor people, which has been expanding apparently as a result of the structural reform drive initiated by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

As part of such measures, Fukuda may study freezing a hike in the elderly’s medical expenses, currently planned for April 2008.

Fukuda will also have to deal with a difficult issue of raising the consumption tax rate from the current 5 pct amid opposition from the DPJ.

The government is exploring the possibility of a consumption tax hike to generate resources for the planned hike in the public pension burden borne by the state coffers to 50 pct from the current one-third in fiscal 2009.

On the diplomatic front, a focal point will be how Fukuda will handle North Korean issues, chiefly the problem of North Korea’s past abductions of Japanese citizens, which has been stalemated due to outgoing Prime Minister Abe’s hard-line stance against Pyongyang.

Fukuda has said it is necessary to use both pressure and dialogue in dealing with North Korean issues.

At a press conference Sunday evening, Fukuda said that the LDP plans to seek talks with the DPJ on the MSDF’s refueling mission and other key political issues.

But commenting on Fukuda’s election as LDP president, DPJ Secretary-General Yukio Hatoyama criticized the LDP for causing a political vacuum following the July Upper House election and urged it to normalize parliamentary business as early as possible.

The Lower House should be dissolved at an early date for a snap general election, Hatoyama said.

Kazuo Shii, chairman of the Japanese Communist Party, said that the coming Fukuda administration is likely to face a deadlock sooner or later, adding that the party is ready to pressure the ruling coalition for the Lower House dissolution.END

(c) 2007 Jiji Press English News Service. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.