DPJ head Noda vows to stick to gov't policies, work with opposition+

TOKYO, Aug. 29 Kyodo -
Yoshihiko Noda, newly elected leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, expressed his resolve Monday to stick to the policies of outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan and work closely with the opposition camp.
Noda, 54, said in his first news conference after winning a runoff election in the DPJ's leadership race that he will ''abide in good faith with an agreement'' made by his party with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and its ally the New Komeito party, and ''build a relationship of trust with the opposition parties.''
Noda, holding the post of finance minister in Kan's outgoing Cabinet, was referring to an accord struck earlier in August among the three parties to review a number of the DPJ's major policies including the child allowance program.
His rival in the runoff, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda, had hinted at nullifying the accord.
Noda, who is set to be named prime minister in parliament Tuesday, reiterated that he is open to the idea of forming a grand coalition with the LDP and said the first task is to see if the DPJ can win the confidence of the LDP.
At a time Japan is struggling with the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster and the ensuing nuclear crisis, fostering good ties with the opposition camp is crucial to passing key legislation in parliament because it controls the House of Councillors and can hamper the passage of bills. The ruling party dominates the more powerful House of Representatives.
Noda also pledged to tackle the country's pressing issues such as reconstructing areas devastated by the March disaster, containing the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and dealing with Japan's economic woes.
With reconstruction and other work lying ahead, the new DPJ chief said he does not intend to dissolve the House of Representatives in the immediate future so as to avoid a political vacuum. He also said he plans to visit the disaster-hit areas at an early date.
Noda, an advocate for raising taxes to fund reconstruction efforts, meanwhile did not touch on the timing for such a tax hike.
While emphasizing cooperation with the opposition bloc, Noda said in his remarks shortly after winning the runoff that he will do his utmost to boost unity in the ruling party, bearing in mind the party division between lawmakers who are close to power broker Ichiro Ozawa and those who are distant from him.
''There are no sides now,'' Noda said.
Kaieda was backed by Ozawa, who has been a staunch critic of Kan's administration.
On the diplomatic front, Noda said he will conform to a bilateral accord between Japan and the United States on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan and promised to make efforts to ease the burden of the people in Okinawa Prefecture.
The deal which includes the transfer of a key U.S. base within Okinawa has been a point of contention between the central government and locals in Okinawa, which hosts a bulk of the U.S. military in the country.