Japanese ruling party chooses new leader

Last update: September 23, 2007 - 5:44 PM

Japan's troubled ruling party on Sunday chose as its leader Yasuo Fukuda -- an admittedly uncharismatic party elder known for his dovish foreign policy and quiet political know-how. As president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he is ensured to become the nation's new prime minister in a vote Tuesday of the lower house of parliament, controlled by the LDP.

Who is he? Fukuda, 71, was a longtime salary man in the oil industry before serving as a cabinet chief under two prime ministers. His father was a prime minister, and he was a secretary in his administration.

What's his challenge? Fukuda will take over from Shinzo Abe, a corrosively unpopular prime minister who left his party in perhaps its worst political mess since World War II. The LDP, which has monopolized postwar political power in Japan, badly lost its way during Abe's one year in power, as financial scandal and failure to address a fiasco involving 50 million misfiled pension records led to a crushing defeat in a midsummer election for the upper house of parliament.

Fukuda's promise: Fukuda conceded last week that he lacks charisma but argued that the problems of his party cannot be solved merely by a strong personality. Leadership, he said Sunday night, will emerge slowly from his ability "to steadily and faithfully respond to the people's expectations." To that end, Fukuda is promising to tone down the nationalist rhetoric of his two most recent predecessors, strengthen ties with China and the United States, and negotiate with North Korea.

On domestic matters: He has promised not to visit the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo, where a handful of Japanese war criminals are honored among the country's 2 million war dead. The shrine has become a symbol of Japan's seeming ambivalence about its wartime atrocities. Fukuda also vowed to "thoroughly" address the needs of hard-pressed people in the countryside.

The pundits' shot: "The LDP can't afford to cause any more blunders," said Harumi Arima, a political analyst.

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