ID :
203881
Sat, 08/27/2011 - 18:07
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203881
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5 candidates vie for Japan's new leadership post
TOKYO, Aug. 27 Kyodo -
Five Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers declared their candidacies Saturday to become the country's next leader, with industry minister Banri Kaieda seen as leaping ahead of the pack, positioning himself as ready to change many of the policies of outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
The four others who filed their candidacy papers for the ruling party's presidential election, scheduled for Monday, are former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, 49, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, 54, farm minister Michihiko Kano, 69, and former transport minister Sumio Mabuchi, 51.
Media polls have shown that Maehara is the public's favorite. But he is expected to face an uphill battle as DPJ power broker Ichiro Ozawa and Yukio Hatoyama, Kan's predecessor, have decided to back Kaieda, 62.
Through their intraparty groups, the two former DPJ chiefs wield influence over nearly half of the votes to elect the new leader.
Only the 398 DPJ lawmakers, not rank-and-file party members or supporters, will be eligible to vote in the election, whose official campaigning began Saturday, the day after Kan announced his resignation following nearly 15 months in office.
There is a strong possibility that none of the five contenders, a record number since the DPJ was formed in 1998, will win a majority of votes and in this case the new leader will be decided in a runoff.
Kaieda has already secured at least 120 votes, while Maehara, Noda and Kano have so far each obtained pledges of support from around 50 parliamentarians, according to Kyodo News surveys.
Whether to review some of the party's major policies pledged in the 2009 general election, through which it came to power, and how to generate funds amid budgetary constraints for the rebuilding of areas ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are major issues in the election.
Ozawa, who is credited with orchestrating the DPJ's rise to power, has criticized Kan and many others in the current leadership for not cherishing the pledges, based on wresting control of policymaking from the powerful bureaucracy, cutting wasteful spending and putting more cash into people's hands.
With opposition parties dominating the upper house of parliament and able to block legislation, Kan's government had to make some compromises on the DPJ's pledges during his tenure.
Major opposition parties have described the pledges, such as monthly child allowances and high school tuition waivers, as wasteful.
Another important issue is Japan's future energy policy. Following the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, triggered by the natural disasters in March, Kan said Japan should become a country that does not need to rely on atomic energy.
Kaieda, who since January has been heading the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in which the functions of both nuclear regulation and promotion are concentrated, was in conflict with Kan over the safety reforms pushed by the 64-year-old premier.
At a joint news conference at the Japan National Press Club in the afternoon, the five spoke on major issues, including how to boost economic growth, the difficult ties with opposition parties and their positions on Ozawa's role in the ruling party.
Among other things, differences stood out regarding how to cooperate with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party in the divided Diet and finance the country's largest reconstruction work since the years after World War II.
Maehara said he wants to call on the LDP to form a grand coalition government if he becomes Japan's new prime minister, the sixth since 2006. Noda is open to the idea, but the rest were not.
Noda reiterated the need to raise a core tax for reconstruction programs in the affected northeastern region, while Kaieda, Kano and Mabuchi said they should be funded by construction bonds with a redemption period of 60 years.
Maehara acknowledged the importance of dealing with the country's tattered public finances by raising taxes, though saying that they should not be lifted until Japan's economy strengthens and moves out of deflation.
But from a bird's-eye view, the DPJ's presidential race has once again turned into a battle between champions and adversaries of Ozawa, the head of the biggest intraparty group, who lost to Kan in the previous election in September last year.
Noda and Maehara are known to be distant from Ozawa and each heads his own faction, while Mabuchi, who has so far gained support from slightly more than 20 lawmakers, and Kano do not belong to any intraparty group. Kaieda is a member of Hatoyama's group.
Often dubbed ''the shadow shogun'' of Japanese politics, Ozawa, whose party membership has been suspended following his indictment over a fund-raising scandal, will not be able to participate in the presidential election this time.
At the news conference, Kaieda criticized Kan for undermining DPJ unity by excluding Ozawa from taking an important role in the party or the government, suggesting his membership suspension should be nullified.
Maehara, meanwhile, said the suspension of Ozawa must be kept in place. Ozawa will stand trial in October over the funds scandal but he has denied any wrongdoing.
Five Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers declared their candidacies Saturday to become the country's next leader, with industry minister Banri Kaieda seen as leaping ahead of the pack, positioning himself as ready to change many of the policies of outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
The four others who filed their candidacy papers for the ruling party's presidential election, scheduled for Monday, are former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, 49, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, 54, farm minister Michihiko Kano, 69, and former transport minister Sumio Mabuchi, 51.
Media polls have shown that Maehara is the public's favorite. But he is expected to face an uphill battle as DPJ power broker Ichiro Ozawa and Yukio Hatoyama, Kan's predecessor, have decided to back Kaieda, 62.
Through their intraparty groups, the two former DPJ chiefs wield influence over nearly half of the votes to elect the new leader.
Only the 398 DPJ lawmakers, not rank-and-file party members or supporters, will be eligible to vote in the election, whose official campaigning began Saturday, the day after Kan announced his resignation following nearly 15 months in office.
There is a strong possibility that none of the five contenders, a record number since the DPJ was formed in 1998, will win a majority of votes and in this case the new leader will be decided in a runoff.
Kaieda has already secured at least 120 votes, while Maehara, Noda and Kano have so far each obtained pledges of support from around 50 parliamentarians, according to Kyodo News surveys.
Whether to review some of the party's major policies pledged in the 2009 general election, through which it came to power, and how to generate funds amid budgetary constraints for the rebuilding of areas ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are major issues in the election.
Ozawa, who is credited with orchestrating the DPJ's rise to power, has criticized Kan and many others in the current leadership for not cherishing the pledges, based on wresting control of policymaking from the powerful bureaucracy, cutting wasteful spending and putting more cash into people's hands.
With opposition parties dominating the upper house of parliament and able to block legislation, Kan's government had to make some compromises on the DPJ's pledges during his tenure.
Major opposition parties have described the pledges, such as monthly child allowances and high school tuition waivers, as wasteful.
Another important issue is Japan's future energy policy. Following the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, triggered by the natural disasters in March, Kan said Japan should become a country that does not need to rely on atomic energy.
Kaieda, who since January has been heading the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in which the functions of both nuclear regulation and promotion are concentrated, was in conflict with Kan over the safety reforms pushed by the 64-year-old premier.
At a joint news conference at the Japan National Press Club in the afternoon, the five spoke on major issues, including how to boost economic growth, the difficult ties with opposition parties and their positions on Ozawa's role in the ruling party.
Among other things, differences stood out regarding how to cooperate with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party in the divided Diet and finance the country's largest reconstruction work since the years after World War II.
Maehara said he wants to call on the LDP to form a grand coalition government if he becomes Japan's new prime minister, the sixth since 2006. Noda is open to the idea, but the rest were not.
Noda reiterated the need to raise a core tax for reconstruction programs in the affected northeastern region, while Kaieda, Kano and Mabuchi said they should be funded by construction bonds with a redemption period of 60 years.
Maehara acknowledged the importance of dealing with the country's tattered public finances by raising taxes, though saying that they should not be lifted until Japan's economy strengthens and moves out of deflation.
But from a bird's-eye view, the DPJ's presidential race has once again turned into a battle between champions and adversaries of Ozawa, the head of the biggest intraparty group, who lost to Kan in the previous election in September last year.
Noda and Maehara are known to be distant from Ozawa and each heads his own faction, while Mabuchi, who has so far gained support from slightly more than 20 lawmakers, and Kano do not belong to any intraparty group. Kaieda is a member of Hatoyama's group.
Often dubbed ''the shadow shogun'' of Japanese politics, Ozawa, whose party membership has been suspended following his indictment over a fund-raising scandal, will not be able to participate in the presidential election this time.
At the news conference, Kaieda criticized Kan for undermining DPJ unity by excluding Ozawa from taking an important role in the party or the government, suggesting his membership suspension should be nullified.
Maehara, meanwhile, said the suspension of Ozawa must be kept in place. Ozawa will stand trial in October over the funds scandal but he has denied any wrongdoing.
