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...expected to become the nation's next Prime Minister. On Sept. 24, during the Diet's new session, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda - whose administration suffers from chronically low approval ratings, economic woes and gridlock in the Diet - will hand over the reins of government. Aso's rise signals the LDP's intent to reinvigorate its image and ride A wave of public support, typical for new prime ministers, into the general election. If those elections are held in late October as expected, Aso, 68, and his new Cabinet will have roughly one month to convince voters that the party...
...political experts chide Aso, a former foreign minister, as too hawkish, gruff and outspoken. In the past, he put his foot in his mouth by saying that "even Alzheimer's patients" could tell that rice was more expensive in China, and in response to China's criticism of former Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine (considered by some to be a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression) he told China "to keep quiet". His political gaffes make headlines, make LDP members cringe and, in the past, have strained ties with China. But Aso's awareness...
...even with a new face as prime minister, Japan's old problems remain. Aso says he will focus on the country's fragile economy - Japan's budget deficit totals about 170% of GDP, by far the highest among developed economies. Meanwhile, the country's growth is threatened by a global slowdown and slipped into negative territory from April to June 2008. At a press conference on Friday, Aso said that he's proud of the fact that the Japanese economy is relatively sound and that Japan didn't participate in the "money game" that led to the troubles now faced...
When Pushpa Kamal Dahal departed for the 2008 Olympics' closing ceremony days after becoming the first Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the writing - for many Indians - was on the Great Wall. For citizens of the other rising Asian giant, the Games had already broadcast how far their India lagged behind China on the field of play. Now, the leader of Nepal - once virtually a client state of its vast southern neighbor - was marking his rise to power not with the customary audience in New Delhi, but in Beijing...
...month later, New Delhi's fears have been calmed - if not fully dispelled. During a five-day trip to India in September, the Nepali Prime Minister warmly embraced his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, stressing that good relations with India were "vital" for Nepal's future and downplaying his earlier Chinese visit as merely a happy opportunity to witness the greatest show on earth...