LDP asks Miyazaki Gov. Higashikokubaru to run in general election+

MIYAZAKI, Japan, June 23 Kyodo -
The Liberal Democratic Party asked popular Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru
to run in the upcoming House of Representatives election, but the beleaguered
ruling party failed to get the nod and instead received a bold counteroffer.

Higashikokubaru told LDP Election Strategy Council Chairman Makoto Koga, who
conveyed the offer to the comedian-turned-politician at the Miyazaki
prefectural government office, that he would only run on the LDP ticket if the
party decides to list him as a candidate for party president, both men told
reporters after their meeting.
The LDP apparently wants to win the support of floating voters by having the
governor run on the party ticket, particularly after the approval ratings for
the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, who heads the LDP, fell sharply in the
latest opinion polls, reversing what had been a recovery trend.
As a condition to accept the offer, the governor also demanded that the LDP
promise to include in its campaign pledge requests by prefectural governors,
such as revising the allocation of tax revenue sources between the central and
local governments from the current 60 percent versus 40 percent to fifty-fifty,
and try to realize those goals in four years.
Koga told reporters he did not give clear-cut answers to Higashikokubaru's
requests. He said the LDP urged the governor to throw his hat into the ring
because public confidence in the party has been eroded and the party needs
''new energy'' to reform itself.
A senior LDP official said the party is considering allowing Higashikokubaru to
run in the proportional representation section of the election if he accepts
the offer.
The governor's remarks regarding the party presidency stirred controversy among
senior LDP members. Although Aso told reporters he does not believe
Higashikokubaru tried to ''make mock of'' the LDP, a party executive said the
comedian ''ridiculed'' the LDP.
LDP Diet affairs chief Tadamori Oshima expressed displeasure over the
governor's remarks, saying he should have made comments ''considering efforts,
experience and insight of (those engaged in) national politics.''
The 51-year-old Miyazaki governor was elected in January 2007, following the
resignation of his predecessor over a bribery scandal. The LDP asked him last
October to consider running for a lower house seat, but Higashikokubaru ruled
out his candidacy at the time.
The LDP made the request to the governor last fall as Nariaki Nakayama, a lower
house member from the party, resigned as transport minister following a series
of verbal gaffes and said he would not run in the next election, leaving his
seat in the Miyazaki No. 1 district vacant.
Higashikokubaru expressed a view at the time that he might enter national
politics in the future. ''I have a strong feeling that someday I will have to
transform national politics from a regional standpoint,'' he said last October.
The LDP plans to enlist the support of other governors who enjoy nationwide
popularity in the general election, such as Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto, an
outspoken lawyer and former TV personality, and Chiba Gov. Kensaku Morita, who
moved into the spotlight in the 1970s as a TV actor and singer, party sources
said.
Hashimoto told reporters Tuesday in Osaka he personally believes
Higashikokubaru's bid for the LDP leadership is a ''mere joke'' but welcomed
the Miyazaki governor's ''courage'' for uttering such an ambition.
''I think he made such comments because he wanted to reject the offer'' by the
LDP, Hashimoto said of Higashikokubaru. The Osaka governor denied the
possibility that he will seek a Diet seat, saying the people of Osaka and LDP
members ''all know I'm not suitable to be a Diet member.''
==Kyodo