ID :
77132
Thu, 08/27/2009 - 08:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/77132
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Fujii, Okada, Kan among names for DPJ-led Cabinet being floated+
TOKYO, Aug. 26 Kyodo - With opinion polls showing that the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan is almost certain to win power in Sunday's general election, various names are already being floated as candidates for its first Cabinet.
For the post of finance minister, DPJ Supreme Adviser Hirohisa Fujii is being
touted as a top candidate, according to party members.
Fujii was finance minister in the administrations of Morihiro Hosokawa and
Tsutomu Hata from 1993 to 1994 -- the only period when the long-dominant
Liberal Democratic Party was out of power.
A series of public polls indicate that the DPJ, which is seeking to create a
more people-oriented politics, is heading for a landslide victory in the House
of Representatives election, snatching power from the LDP for only the second
time since the ruling party's founding in 1955.
Some DPJ members also say that Secretary General Katsuya Okada should assume
the post of finance minister, citing his increasing clout within the party and
his eagerness to prioritize reviving the country's debt-ridden finances.
Whoever becomes finance minister in a DPJ-led Cabinet will face the task of
securing fresh financial resources worth 16.8 trillion yen by fiscal 2013 to
fulfill the party's campaign promises for the upcoming lower house election.
As for the post of chief Cabinet secretary, Acting DPJ President Naoto Kan
seems to be interested, according to the DPJ members. Kan has been credited
with first shedding light on an HIV-tainted blood scandal.
But one DPJ official expressed doubts about his taking up the post of top
government spokesman as he would need to coordinate with central bureaucrats.
''Mr. Kan tends to grandstand and may cause a backlash among bureaucrats,'' the
official said.
Kan is also being considered as a candidate for foreign minister because of his
experience as chairman of the lower chamber's Committee on Foreign Affairs, the
members say.
Jitsuro Terashima, chairman of the Japan Research Institute who is believed to
be one of the brains behind DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama, is also a possible
candidate for foreign minister.
Such names as Koji Matsui and Kan Suzuki, both House of Councillors members of
the DPJ, are being floated as candidates for a new Cabinet post to be set up to
oversee the party's planned policymaking bureau -- the National Strategy
Bureau.
Hitoshi Tanaka, a former deputy foreign minister who contributed to the
September 2002 visit to North Korea by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,
has also appeared as a candidate for the post.
Party members say that Akira Nagatsuma, deputy chairman of the party's Policy
Research Committee who helped expose the government's sloppy pension
book-keeping problem, would likely assume another new Cabinet portfolio in
charge of pension reforms.
Among other names that have come up as ministerial candidates are Renho, a TV
presenter-turned-upper house lawmaker, as well as Makiko Tanaka, a former LDP
lawmaker with experience as foreign minister who recently joined the DPJ.
Party campaign strategist Ichiro Ozawa, who has the greatest clout within the
DPJ, may take up a leading party post such as secretary general, with the aim
of leading the party to victory in next year's upper house election.
But some DPJ members are wary about keeping the former party leader in an
important position as it might result in excessive growth of his influence.
For the lower house election, Ozawa has recruited 114 candidates and taught
many of them about election campaigning. If these novices win Diet seats,
Ozawa's clout would further expand, they say.
Those who distant themselves from Ozawa are thus seeking to have Okada remain
in the post or Kan to assume the post instead. In this event, Ozawa is expected
to keep his job as acting president in charge of election campaigning.
The DPJ is planning to tap one lawmaker each from its two opposition allies --
the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party -- to join the Cabinet.
SDP chief Mizuho Fukushima and acting PNP president Shizuka Kamei are possible
candidates.
DPJ chief Hatoyama has said the party would forge a coalition with the two
minor opposition parties even if the DPJ secures a runaway victory.
==Kyodo
For the post of finance minister, DPJ Supreme Adviser Hirohisa Fujii is being
touted as a top candidate, according to party members.
Fujii was finance minister in the administrations of Morihiro Hosokawa and
Tsutomu Hata from 1993 to 1994 -- the only period when the long-dominant
Liberal Democratic Party was out of power.
A series of public polls indicate that the DPJ, which is seeking to create a
more people-oriented politics, is heading for a landslide victory in the House
of Representatives election, snatching power from the LDP for only the second
time since the ruling party's founding in 1955.
Some DPJ members also say that Secretary General Katsuya Okada should assume
the post of finance minister, citing his increasing clout within the party and
his eagerness to prioritize reviving the country's debt-ridden finances.
Whoever becomes finance minister in a DPJ-led Cabinet will face the task of
securing fresh financial resources worth 16.8 trillion yen by fiscal 2013 to
fulfill the party's campaign promises for the upcoming lower house election.
As for the post of chief Cabinet secretary, Acting DPJ President Naoto Kan
seems to be interested, according to the DPJ members. Kan has been credited
with first shedding light on an HIV-tainted blood scandal.
But one DPJ official expressed doubts about his taking up the post of top
government spokesman as he would need to coordinate with central bureaucrats.
''Mr. Kan tends to grandstand and may cause a backlash among bureaucrats,'' the
official said.
Kan is also being considered as a candidate for foreign minister because of his
experience as chairman of the lower chamber's Committee on Foreign Affairs, the
members say.
Jitsuro Terashima, chairman of the Japan Research Institute who is believed to
be one of the brains behind DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama, is also a possible
candidate for foreign minister.
Such names as Koji Matsui and Kan Suzuki, both House of Councillors members of
the DPJ, are being floated as candidates for a new Cabinet post to be set up to
oversee the party's planned policymaking bureau -- the National Strategy
Bureau.
Hitoshi Tanaka, a former deputy foreign minister who contributed to the
September 2002 visit to North Korea by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,
has also appeared as a candidate for the post.
Party members say that Akira Nagatsuma, deputy chairman of the party's Policy
Research Committee who helped expose the government's sloppy pension
book-keeping problem, would likely assume another new Cabinet portfolio in
charge of pension reforms.
Among other names that have come up as ministerial candidates are Renho, a TV
presenter-turned-upper house lawmaker, as well as Makiko Tanaka, a former LDP
lawmaker with experience as foreign minister who recently joined the DPJ.
Party campaign strategist Ichiro Ozawa, who has the greatest clout within the
DPJ, may take up a leading party post such as secretary general, with the aim
of leading the party to victory in next year's upper house election.
But some DPJ members are wary about keeping the former party leader in an
important position as it might result in excessive growth of his influence.
For the lower house election, Ozawa has recruited 114 candidates and taught
many of them about election campaigning. If these novices win Diet seats,
Ozawa's clout would further expand, they say.
Those who distant themselves from Ozawa are thus seeking to have Okada remain
in the post or Kan to assume the post instead. In this event, Ozawa is expected
to keep his job as acting president in charge of election campaigning.
The DPJ is planning to tap one lawmaker each from its two opposition allies --
the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party -- to join the Cabinet.
SDP chief Mizuho Fukushima and acting PNP president Shizuka Kamei are possible
candidates.
DPJ chief Hatoyama has said the party would forge a coalition with the two
minor opposition parties even if the DPJ secures a runaway victory.
==Kyodo
