Word: ldp
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...right about Abe, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, and the man who will almost certainly win the contest to become the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Sept. 20?and therefore the next Prime Minister of Japan? Try both. Even more so than his popular boss Junichiro Koizumi, who steps down at the end of the month after more than five years in power, Abe is an unabashed conservative, eager to strengthen the U.S. alliance and promote a more assertive role for Japan abroad?despite the risk of further antagonizing neighbors like China and South Korea...
...would be the youngest Japanese Prime Minister in postwar history. His crushing lead in the LDP race?Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso, his only opponents, are way behind?means he has been able to run a cautious, purposefully vague campaign, releasing a policy platform that runs to just four pages. "Right now he has the ability to be all things to all people," says Kent Calder, director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University. "But that will narrow over time." What's certain is that Abe's agenda will...
...Koizumi in a political situation that Bush might recognize - what succeeds in domestic politics is wrecking the country's reputation abroad. And that leaves Abe in something of a bind. (Abe is a virtual lock to win next month's elections to lead Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, which would automatically make him Prime Minister.) If Abe visits Yasukuni after becoming Prime Minister, he could destroy Japan's best chance in years to repair relations with China and South Korea. If he decides not to go, he could be seen as kowtowing to Chinese wishes at a time...
...Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, has come out against the Yasukuni visits, while another, Foreign Minister Taro Aso, wants to sidestep the issue by transforming the shrine into a state-sponsored memorial, instead of a religious one. But Tanigaki and Aso are only polling in the single digits, and the LDP stalwarts who will be voting in the party election tend to be conservative. Abe will have to decide eventually. Many observers assume that his past record means he will make the trip as Prime Minister at some point. But with Abe's proven conservative bona-fides, he might be able...
...Japan. In his acceptance speech, Ozawa said: "I will reform myself as well as the party." Although Japanese voters have heard this type of pablum from politicians countless times in the past, it is vitally important for Ozawa to keep his word. For without the DPJ to keep the LDP on its toes, Japan suffers...