DPJ election heading to runoff between Kaieda, 2nd rival+

TOKYO, Aug. 28 Kyodo -
The five candidates in the election of a new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, whose winner will take over as Japan's prime minister, scrambled Sunday to court support, as the odds rose for a runoff between front-runner Banri Kaieda and whomever receives the second-largest number of votes.
Kaieda, 62, the industry minister in the outgoing Cabinet, has yet to secure the majority of votes needed to win on the first ballot of Monday's election, according to Kyodo News' counting of projected votes. But Kaieda is all but certain to receive the most votes, as he has secured the backing of party power broker Ichiro Ozawa, chief of the party's largest faction.
In case no candidate wins a majority of votes on the first ballot, the two candidates with the most votes will go through to a second round to decide the winner.
The Kyodo analysis showed former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, 49, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, 54, and farm minister Michihiko Kano, 69, fighting closely for second place. Former transport minister Sumio Mabuchi, 51, is also in the race.
In case of a runoff, the camps of Maehara and Noda have agreed to join forces against Kaieda, while either or both could lend support to Kano if he ranks second to Kaieda after the first round of voting, according to DPJ sources.
But nearly 30 percent of the ruling party members of parliament, who are the only ones eligible to vote, appeared to be still undecided on Sunday. Their votes hold the key to deciding the outcome of the election on Monday.
Official campaigning began Saturday, with a record number of contenders entering the party leader's race since the DPJ was formed in 1998.
In a bid to woo as many votes as possible from the undecided lawmakers, all five candidates made great efforts in a party-sponsored policy debate on Sunday and behind the scenes.
During the debate, the five men all specified as top priorities the speedy reconstruction of areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, containing the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, and enhancement of unity among DPJ lawmakers.
''Japan will be unable to revive unless Fukushima revives,'' Noda said, referring to the impact of the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture on locals and the rest of Japan.
Key policy differences included whether to raise taxes to fund rebuilding efforts in the disaster-stricken northeastern region, and how to cooperate with opposition parties which control the upper house of parliament.
Yet the real focus of the election boils down to a power struggle between allies and adversaries of Ozawa, a vocal critic of outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who announced his resignation on Friday amid criticism over his handling of the March 11 disaster and other issues.
Ozawa and his close ally, Yukio Hatoyama, Kan's predecessor as prime minister, have influence over more than a third of the 398 lawmakers who will vote to choose the new DPJ leader.
Ozawa himself cannot vote in the election as his party membership has been suspended following his indictment earlier this year over a political funds scandal. His trial on charges of filing a false political campaign funds report begins in October.
While Maehara is touted by media polls as the public's favorite, Kaieda is backed by Ozawa and Hatoyama.
Maehara and Noda are known to be distant to Ozawa, while Kano is backed by many veteran lawmakers who have neutral positions to Ozawa and his allies.
At the debate, Kaieda said, ''What is important is first to make the Democratic Party of Japan united.''
Maehara dismissed a view that he may be self-serving in making key appointments if he becomes the party leader, saying, ''As I have been calling for party unity, it is natural to put the right people in the right jobs.''
He said in a TV program earlier in the day that if elected, he would appoint lawmakers close to Ozawa to key posts in the party leadership and the Cabinet.
Maehara also said during the debate that he wants to form a time-limited coalition with key opposition parties, whose cooperation is needed to avoid legislative deadlock in the divided Diet.
Noda said he is open to the idea, while the rest were reluctant.
In the debate Kaieda also hinted at nullifying the party's accord with two major opposition parties -- the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party, while the other four said they would adhere to the agreement.
Under the agreement, the DPJ is obliged to review a number of major policies including the child allowance program.