| |
 |
Japan PM race heats up
|
THE Japanese Government has seen a series of turmoils since Yoshiro Mori came into power in April 2000 after Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suffered a fatal stroke. Immediately, his selection in a closed-door meeting of LDP bigwigs came under heavy criticism.
Mori, who has been under fire for months over verbal gaffes and missteps, has been long expected to quit. His public support ratings have plunged below 10 per cent, making him the second-most unpopular prime minister in Japan since World War II, after Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, who resigned in 1989.
Mori stepped down
Mori officially announced his resignation to his cabinet last Friday, ending a month of uncertainty and bringing the administration of one of the country's most unpopular leaders to an end. It came just as Japan approved a package of economic steps to bolster its flagging economy by helping banks to tackle their mountain of nonperforming loans and supporting the stock market.
"We are hoping for a long-term administration,'' Koga told national broadcaster NHK.
Ruling party lawmakers had been keen to oust Mori in the hope that replacing him would improve their chances in a key Upper House election set for July.
Choosing Mori's successor
Politicians from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) prepared last Sunday for a party election. LDP on Monday worked out details of a party election to choose a successor to Yoshiro Mori. The party has already set April 24 as the election date, so Monday's discussion would focus on deciding formalities such as dates for the official announcement and for candidates to submit their bids.
The party election will effectively determine the next prime minister, as the LDP-led coalition holds a majority in the Diet.
Hashimoto VS Koizumi
Path paved for new prime minister after Mori speaks of his resignation. Though no contender has declared their candidacy, the race is expected to be a duel between former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, backed by the biggest faction in the LDP, and self-styled reformer Junichiro Koizumi.
In his policy platform, Hashimoto plans to explain his ideas for economic and fiscal structural reforms. He will also express his determination to implement an emergency economic stimulus package that focuses on the disposal of bad loans held by financial institutions in order to boost the stagnant economy.
Hashimoto carries some unwelcome baggage. When he resigned as prime minister in 1998, he left the economy in its deepest recession in decades, the effects of which are still being felt. In January, Fukushiro Nukaga, state minister for economic and fiscal affairs and a rising star in Hashimoto's faction, was forced to resign over a money-for-favours scandal that has also claimed two other LDP lawmakers.
Koizumi, 59, former health and welfare minister, has emerged as a popular choice among the public to replace his mentor as prime minister. As one of Japan's more eccentric politicians with his slightly unkempt, wavy hair, Koizumi ran in the race to head the LDP two years ago.
Koizumi plans to focus on the economic and fiscal structural reforms, including the privatization of three telecommunication businesses, in his policy platform. But some members of Mori faction are cautious about making the privatization issue the major policy target.
Koizumi made his mark with a campaign to privatize the postal and savings system as a way to get Japan's massive public debt under control -- a plan loathed by many LDP lawmakers with ties to postal workers. Financial markets would likely welcome a Koizumi administration, at least at first, for its air of reform.
Other contenders include party elder Hiromu Nonaka, 75, and Economics Minister Taro Aso, 60, who said yesterday he was considering his candidacy in response to calls to run by some young members of the LDP.
Faction struggles
The two top factions in LDP prepared on Monday to join battle for this week's formal kick-off for the race to elect a new president, and therefore, prime minister.
Hashimoto is supported by the LDP's Hashimoto, Horiuchi factions, and Koizumi is backed by the Mori, Yamasaki and Kato factions.
The likelihood of Hashimoto running in the election grew after an influential member of his faction said it would not field former LDP Secretary General Hiromu Nonaka, who was widely considered the front-runner. Nonaka extended his support to Hashimoto.
With the support of two important factions, Hashimoto will get the upper hand.
It is not yet 100 per cent certain that Hashimoto can obtain endorsement from other mainstream factions. LDP policy chief Shizuka Kamei, joint leader of the Eto-Kamei faction, said last Wednesday he would not rule out the possibility of standing himself, suggesting that his group will hold a casting vote.
Domestic media said that winning the support of LDP policy chief Shizuka Kamei and his faction would be a key factor in deciding who would become the next country's leader.
Kamei was reported to be leaning toward Hashimoto, who resigned from the top post after the LDP performed abysmally in a 1998 Upper House election.However, Kamei and Hashimoto do not necessarily agree on how to handle the economy.
|
|
|
|
