Japan's ruling party Monday chose conservative Taro Aso to be the country's next prime minister, tasking him with steering Asia's largest economy away from recession and running in high-risk elections. Aso, 68, an outspoken former foreign minister, easily won the party's leadership election, paving the way for him to succeed Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who stepped down three weeks ago amid plunging approval ratings. The flamboyant but gaffe-prone politician - who supports public spending to revive the Japanese economy - won in his fourth try for the top job in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), defeating four other candidates. Aso saluted his rivals as he was proclaimed the winner at the vote inside the LDP headquarters, where the walls are filled with giant portraits of other leaders from the party that has ruled Japan almost continuously since 1955. Aso received 351 out of the 527 votes, party election chief Hideo Usui said. Kaoru Yosano, the minister for economic and fiscal policy and a critic of Aso's economic policies, trailed in second place at 66 votes. The other candidates included former defence minister Yuriko Koike, who was the first woman to seek to become Japan's prime minister. She came in third with 46 votes. Aso enjoyed strong support in struggling rural areas as he has promised to use public money to stimulate the economy, a break from a long push in the LDP for free-market reforms, which Koike had pledged to bring in. Rivals accused Aso of putting Japan's ailing finances further at risk, and popular former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, who championed economic reforms during his 2001-2006 tenure, openly backed Koike.
Aso is thought likely to take advantage of the moment to call snap general elections - possibly for as early as late October - in the hope of thwarting an increasingly popular opposition. But some pundits doubt whether the LDP leadership race did much to incite enthusiasm among the general public. The leadership race came as Japan wrestles with the impact of the global financial crisis and a scandal over pesticide-laced rice that was served to hospital patients and schoolchildren. Aso is expected to be installed by parliament on Wednesday. General elections must be held by September next year, but calling a snap poll could also be a risky strategy for the LDP. The party last year for the first time lost control of the upper house of parliament, and the Fukuda government's approval rating last week stood at a mere 15.6 per cent. His popularity plunged after he raised medical costs for the elderly, whose growing number is badly straining public finances. The opposition has promised to scrap the medical plan and Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe hinted recently that Aso would do so as well. At its own convention Sunday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan gave another two-year term to its leader Ichiro Ozawa, 66, a veteran political tactician who stormed out of the LDP in 1993.
News reports said that Aso would likely give posts to his defeated rivals in a bid to ensure party unity, including keeping Yosano as fiscal and economic policy minister. The other candidates were military expert Shigeru Ishiba and younger-generation reformist Nobuteru Ishihara. [End of report]
Well, I dont think I have to mention that it was an expected result, one that I welcome very much. I have always supported Aso right from the start, that is why I am very happy with the result. There was never any doubt in my mind that he would lose in the contest because quite honestly, there wasnt much competition from the other candidates. I have to admit though that I am surprise by how well Yuriko Koike, the only female candidate in the contest did. She managed to finish in third place, even though the number of votes she received was relatively small, as compared to Aso's. I think she will be one to watch for the future. Anyway, back to Taro Aso, even though his LDP party's popularity has plunged over the last few years or so, as a result of the failure from his previous two predecessor Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda, he remained a largely popular guy with the Japanese people. I think the reason why he is popular with the people is because they are able to relate well with him, not just as a politician, but as a normal individual as well. If you ask me, I think he should be the Prime Minister a long time ago, after the departure of Koizumi. I mean as you can read from the report, this was his fourth try in his bid secure the top job in LDP. You just got the feeling that he would eventually be the leader of the party sooner or later, and his time has finally arrived.
Having secure the leadership position now, he can now focus his effort in rebuilding the country, which will not be an easy task. The foremost problem that he would most likely to deal with first is the country's sagging economy. Inflation is at all time high and the economy hasn't been doing well ever since Shinzo Abe took over from Koizumi. Aso advocates an increase in public spending and tax cuts to stimulate the economy, which as you can read from the report is not something that is popular with most of the people. It is difficult to say whether it will work or not, so Im not going to judge it until I see the true results of the move. You can also read on the report that the LDP is expected to call a snap election, as early as next month. Now, I have talk about my views regarding having an early snap election in one of my previous post, so I wont comment much on the issue. I just think it would be a very risky move on LDP's part. Im not sure if majority of the Japanese people share the same view they have on Aso along with LDP. What I mean is that they might like Aso, but I dont think the same could be said on LDP's part, not with everything that has happened when Abe and Fukuda was in charge. The party has already lost control of the upper house of parliament last year, and to lose again in the election would be a huge blow.
As far as I am concerned, the LDP should not rush into having a snap election. They should not expect to get the support that Aso is receiving from the people as quickly as they would like to just because they have chosen him to lead the party. The plan could backfire and any gains they have made to get back the trust and support from the people could be jeapordised. I think they should wait for at least a few more months before calling an election. They should give Aso the time to do what he needs in order to gain back the public trust before they decide to do anything else.
*The report was taken from AFP.
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