LDP secretary general Taro Aso

Aso to run in LDP presidential race planned for Sept 22

Tuesday 02nd September, 02:04 PM JST

TOKYO —

Taro Aso, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, reiterated Tuesday his willingness to run in the party’s presidential election after Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda abruptly announced his intention to resign Monday night. The LDP plans to hold a presidential election to choose the successor to Fukuda on Sept 22, with official campaigning expected to start Sept 10, a senior LDP member said. The election schedule will be formalized Wednesday.

Aso told a news conference that he believes he is ‘‘qualified’’ to run for party president as he has discussed various matters with Fukuda, including the emergency economic package. ‘‘I’d like to act out my own thoughts,’’ he said.

Aso, 67, is seen as the frontrunner to succeed Fukuda, 72, while a number of LDP lawmakers have started to consider fielding other contenders to make it a multiple-candidate race.

At a meeting by executives of the LDP where Fukuda also attended, the outgoing prime minister offered his apology, saying, ‘‘I am sorry for causing so much trouble,’’ according to Aso.

Fukuda also told a General Council meeting that he would like ‘‘multiple people’’ to run in the party’s presidential race.

Calls to hold a multiple-candidate race have increased within the LDP to clearly differentiate its presidential race from one to be held later this month by the Democratic Party of Japan, which is likely to result in the reelection of Ichiro Ozawa without any challengers.

Some middle-ranking and junior LDP lawmakers have voiced hopes that such popular LDP members as former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike, 56, would challenge Aso.

Koike, a TV personality-turned-lawmaker, told reporters, ‘‘It’s not just a political crisis, it is also Japan’s crisis,’’ not denying a possibility of filing candidacy.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, 66, whom some junior LDP members look toward to become a candidate, has conveyed his intention not to run in the presidential race, according to sources close to Koizumi.

Hideo Usui, head of the LDP presidential election commission, will hold a meeting of the commission on Tuesday afternoon and discuss the schedule and procedures for the presidential election.

Senior members of LDP’s biggest faction, led by Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, have confirmed it will not field a candidate for the election following two sudden resignation announcements by its two members—Fukuda and his predecessor Shinzo Abe who resigned in September last year, according to sources close to the faction.

But the faction will permit its members to file candidacy on an individual basis.

The new LDP president will become the next prime minister by virtue of the overwhelming majority the LDP and its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, hold in the powerful House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, executives of the DPJ including Ozawa and Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama met at the party’s headquarters and agreed to accelerate its preparation for a general election, party members said.

The DPJ is paying close attention to the LDP presidential race as the party, which had judged that it will take a lead in a lower house election if it is held under Fukuda who was struggling with low popularity, may now have to change its election strategy.

At the meeting, Ozawa said, ‘‘From the perspective of constitutional wisdom, the Fukuda administration should hand over the administration as it has reached a dead end,’’ and added that an election should be held by dissolving the lower house.

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Latest 15 of 46 Total Comments Show All

medievaltimes at 12:07 AM JST - 3rd September

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I don't care who becomes PM. I'M PASSED CARING.

Then why post?
dr_jones at 12:11 AM JST - 3rd September

He should have been voted in the first place! Fukuda was an almost one year long null round.
meanmutha at 12:15 AM JST - 3rd September

word on the street he's old school and hates the US and others...
usaexpat at 12:22 AM JST - 3rd September

My wife's aunt knows him fairly well and as I understand it he should be more dynamic than Fukuda was. With all the rants about xenophobic, son of a war criminal etc. you'd think all the posters above actually had democracy or good governance in their home countries, I bet not. It doesn't matter much anyway as nothing really changes here or anywhere else on earth. Aso will get the nod, look for him to last 1 year.
JohnBecker at 12:37 AM JST - 3rd September

Hopefully Aso wins the party election, people get even more disgusted, and the LDP finally gets tossed out on it collective ear in the next parliamentary election.

BTW - the U.S. is not a democracy - it's a federal republic.
usaexpat at 12:43 AM JST - 3rd September

JohnBecker: In therory the US is a representative democracy the same as Japan, all of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, etc. the question is who those democracies truly represent. My point was as screwed up as Japan's 1 party rule is the two party rule of the states or most European countries is not much if any better.
Pukey2 at 12:58 AM JST - 3rd September

Then why post?

Because this is a forum for people to post their opinions.
Pukey2 at 12:59 AM JST - 3rd September

Above post for medievaltimes. What's your opinion?
GeorgeRoper at 01:02 AM JST - 3rd September

I heard Mr Aso is even more of a diddler than Ken Dodd. Why does Japan want a twister as prime minister.

Its like Britain choosing Jeffrey Archer to be prime minsiter. Why dont they pick a young fella, who is more in touch with the people?
burikko at 01:05 AM JST - 3rd September

I suppose some person misunderstand Aso's grandfather. Yoshida was the liberalist who was opposed against militarism. But his grandson is a claptrap politician with cheap chauvinism.

Ichiro Hatoyama (the grandfather of DPJ's chief secretary Yukio Hatoyama), and Yoshida had organized LDP. I can imagine hardly what their grandsons will make or destroy.
Blue_Tiger at 08:58 AM JST - 3rd September

Hmmmmmm.....

A lot of the comments I'm seeing here about Taro Aso as the possible next PM are alomst identical to posts I saw six years ago when Koizumi jumped into the PM race.

Perhaps Taro Aso is a man of Koizumi's calibre? Let us hope so....
Simon_Foston at 11:26 AM JST - 3rd September

A lot of the comments I'm seeing here about Taro Aso as the possible next PM are alomst identical to posts I saw six years ago when Koizumi jumped into the PM race.

Perhaps Taro Aso is a man of Koizumi's calibre? Let us hope so....

Koizumi became LDP president on his second try, and that was in spite of being very much a party outsider. Aso's had what, three or four attempts at getting the job, and in the last two elections he couldn't beat non-entities like Abe and Fukuda. A man of Koizumi's calibre? I think not. He's a loudmouthed failure.
lipscombe at 12:36 AM JST - 5th September

Mori must be happy, even his reign of embarrassing stupidity may soon be eclipsed.
Seiharinokaze at 01:37 AM JST - 5th September

Mr. Aso's grandfather opposed to militarization of Japan leaving her national security entirely to America. As a result, the LDP politics has been mainly to distribute the fruits of economic growth, lacking any sense of self-determination for diplomacy and national security, for which LDP has only to follow what its mastermind dictates. So even if everybody else (actually including LDP) does not want to extend the refueling mission, the government of a protectorate state has no choice but to do it. It's called Yoshida system (or more aptly the end result of it). And all the technicalities are arranged by bureaucrats to their best interest and advantage without any concern for people's well-being. But this system is beginning to be stalemated.

Perhaps PM Fukuda has gotten sick of it all losing sight of the path that this country should follow. That's why he decided to step down. And Mr. Aso seems still to try to keep the dysfunctional old system. I'm not sure if he does so by having a foreboding that LDP politics is coming to an end.
lipscombe at 10:35 AM JST - 5th September

he looks like Yoda