Aso admits defeat 'likely' in Japan leadership race
Yasuo Fukuda appeared destined to become Japan’s new prime minister as his sole challenger admitted today he was likely to lose the ruling party’s upcoming leadership election.
Former foreign minister Taro Aso, a foreign policy hawk, did not contest a talk show host’s suggestion that his more dovish opponent Fukuda would most likely win the September 23 Liberal Democratic Party presidential ballot in a landslide.
“Yes, but if I drop out, the party would be criticised as having chosen a prime minister through back-room deals,” Mr Aso said on Japanese TV.
“I have decided to run, if only for the sake of holding an open election.”
Prime minister Shinzo Abe – hospitalised last week from exhaustion and stress-related stomach problems – lasted only a year in office and suffered a series of setbacks over ministerial financial scandals and gaffes.
Aso, 66, who holds the No 2 post in the LDP after Abe, initially emerged as the front-runner to replace him. But support for Fukuda, 71, a critic of Abe, has increased since he announced his candidacy on Friday.
Local media say Fukuda has won the backing of most LDP factions and he is likely to win the leadership ballot, in which votes are cast by LDP politicians and regional representatives.
The new LDP leader is assured selection as Japan’s prime minister because of the party’s majority in parliament’s powerful lower house.
Fukuda reiterated today he would fight to extend Japan’s naval mission in the Indian Ocean to refuel warships in aid of US-led military operations in Afghanistan.
“Our relationship with the US is the cornerstone of Japan’s foreign policy,” Mr Fukuda said. “We must explain the importance of this mission very carefully to the public.”
Since 2001, Japan’s navy has been providing fuel for coalition forces in Afghanistan under an anti-terrorism law that has been extended three times.
But the country’s main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, is against a further extension, saying coalition operations there have not been properly approved by the United Nations. The mission has also been unpopular with the public.
Mr Fukuda said he hoped to win over the Democrats, adding he would only push the extension through parliament as a “last resort”. He later told TV Asahi he would choose the national interest over public opinion.
He also vowed to bolster ties with Japan’s Asian neighbours, reiterating he would stay away from a war shrine criticised by China and South Korea for its links to past Japanese militarism if he became prime minister.
Aso, meanwhile, repeated his stance today that China was a growing military threat in the region – a charge that previously drew sharp rebukes from Beijing.
Departing from the more conservative faction of the LDP, Fukuda said Japan also needs to take a more flexible line toward North Korea.
