Aso seeks support from biz groups, Hatoyama out on street stumps+

TOKOROZAWA, Japan, July 23 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Taro Aso visited several industry groups Thursday to seek their
support for the Aug. 30 general election, while his rival Yukio Hatoyama,
Democratic Party of Japan leader, was on a campaign tour, calling on the public
to support the party's bid to oust the ruling bloc led by Aso's Liberal
Democratic Party.

''I want you to become the heroes to create history and your courage will
create a new Japan,'' Hatoyama said in front of Tokorozawa Station in Saitama
Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on the first leg of his stumping tour for the day.
Soon after Hatoyama began speaking, people crowded around his campaign vehicle
to listen, responding occasionally with cheers and applause.
''I have supported the LDP for decades but changed my mind and will offer my
support to the DPJ,'' said a 66-year-old company employer, who said he has
donated to the ruling party for many years.
On reasons for his change of heart, he pointed to Aso's repeated policy
flip-flops and also complained that the premier's economic steps have not
benefited his construction company.
Another company employee, 67, said, ''I felt passion from Mr. Hatoyama, and the
public mood is in favor of the DPJ and I myself expect the party to take
power.''
Following the speech, Hatoyama came close to the audience and people lined up
to shake hands with the opposition leader, who may become the next prime
minister of Japan.
But Aso, president of the LDP, has no fixed schedule for public stumps yet,
although he has just arranged to deliver a speech on Saturday at a seminar to
be organized by the LDP's chapter in Miyazaki Prefecture, which will be his
first speech since he dissolved the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
He has visited several business organizations, including the Japan Electrical
Manufacturers' Association and the Japan Fisheries Cooperatives on Thursday,
and asked for their support in the upcoming election, in which the LDP is
expected to face a tough battle.
''I believe it is natural to explain what we have done for the past 10 months
to various groups and support groups,'' Aso told reporters Thursday evening.
''That is our way.''
It is rare for a prime minister to show up in person and knock on the doors of
organizations in soliciting their support.
One source close to the prime minister said, ''We have received requests for
campaign speeches from about 50 groups, including (LDP) prefectural chapters as
well as individuals.''
But the source declined to comment on exactly when Aso would be ready to start
the campaign tour.
In another development, the DPJ released part of its annual policy platform
Thursday, in which it dropped all reference to its opposition to the
Self-Defense Forces' refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
The DPJ has been adamantly opposed to extending the refueling mission,
conducted by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean since 2001,
past January this year.
But it has apparently adopted a more pragmatic foreign policy with an eye on
taking power in the election and maintaining friendly ties with Tokyo's closest
ally, the United States.
''It is beyond my understanding that this party, which has been opposed to (the
mission) so strongly, has changed its stance shortly before the election,'' Aso
said.
''I would say that is a flip-flop,'' he said, referring to the phrase he has
often been criticized with by Hatoyama.
Aso's LDP and its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, agreed Thursday to
suggest to the DPJ-led opposition bloc that leaders from each party hold an
open debate before the election, ruling bloc officials said.
In the envisaged debate, the LDP-New Komeito coalition is apparently aiming to
highlight the DPJ's fuzziness on how to secure funding to realize its pledges,
which include providing child-raising allowances and waiving all expressway
tolls.
Aso dissolved the lower chamber Tuesday for the Aug. 30 election. Official
campaigning is set to start Aug. 18, but campaigning by the LDP and DPJ, the
two major players, is already in full swing.
Aso has spent the past few days apologizing to his colleagues for having lost
public support for the LDP because of his repeated verbal gaffes and lack of
leadership.
==Kyodo