Kingpin Ozawa backs trade minister Kaieda in party leadership race+

TOKYO, Aug. 26 Kyodo -
Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa has decided to back industry minister Banri Kaieda in the ruling party's presidential election, a lawmaker close to Ozawa said, with an eye to create a new government that would not follow the policies of his major political rival Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
On the back of support from Ozawa's group to which about 140 DPJ parliamentarians belong, Kaieda, 62, has become a leading contender in Monday's election in which 398 party lawmakers are set to vote.
At a meeting of his group on Friday night which the economy, trade and industry minister also attended, Ozawa said, ''Let's work together in aiming toward Prime Minister Banri Kaieda,'' according to those who took part in the event.
Kaieda, who has played a pivotal role in the country's nuclear policy, has been in conflict with Kan over the issue of restarting nuclear reactors amid the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, crippled by the quake-tsunami disaster in March, as well as over energy policies.
Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a close ally of Ozawa, has also agreed to back Kaieda, an aide of Hatoyama said. About 50 lawmakers, including Kaieda, are affiliated with Hatoyama.
Earlier in the day, a lawmaker said Ozawa has no plans to back former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara in the ruling party's election to choose its new leader, casting a cloud over the prospects of winning for Maehara, who is seen as the public's favorite.
Maehara and other potential candidates had been courting support from Ozawa, who heads the largest intraparty faction.
Despite his popularity among Japanese voters in recent media polls, Maehara, 49, is expected to face an uphill battle without the support of Ozawa's group members.
Following Prime Minister and DPJ leader Kan's formal announcement of his resignation early Friday afternoon, the mood has now shifted to campaigning which officially begins Saturday.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, 54, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Michihiko Kano, 69, and former Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Sumio Mabuchi, 51, formally declared their candidacies later in the day.
Maehara, who had already announced Tuesday that he would run in the race, brushed off the odds against him because of Ozawa's lack of support. He told reporters after a gathering with his allies that he will do his best until the very end and called for party unity.
With the election looking likely to see an unusually large number of candidates, calls had been growing within the party to integrate the support bases for Maehara, Noda, and 52-year-old contender Shinji Tarutoko, former chairman of the DPJ's Diet Affairs Committee.
Tarutoko said Friday he has decided not to run in the race.
Earlier, Hatoyama, who served as DPJ president and prime minister before Kan, met with Kaieda and former Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa in a move to consolidate their candidacies. Hatoyama also held similar talks with Kano.
Later in the day, Sakihito Ozawa, 57, who belongs to Hatoyama's group, said he will support Kaieda, instead of running in the presidential election himself, according to a lawmaker close to the former environment minister.
Ahead of Kan's announcement to step down, Kaieda tendered his own resignation to the premier. The trade minister told reporters afterward that the prime minister did not accept his resignation and asked him to stay on until the current Cabinet ends.
Kan's Cabinet members were divided in their show of support for possible candidates. Nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono has said he will throw his weight behind Maehara, while current transport minister Akihiro Ohata voiced his support for Kano.
Voting by DPJ lawmakers of both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors will take place Monday morning, and the new DPJ leader is expected to be named as prime minister in parliament possibly as early as Tuesday.
The upcoming election is unlike the contest last September when the DPJ's rank-and-file members and supporters also participated.