Finance Minister Kan seen as front-runner to succeed Hatoyama+

TOKYO, June 2 Kyodo -
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Naoto Kan is considered the
front-runner in the race to head the embattled ruling party and the government
after Yukio Hatoyama announced his decision to step down Wednesday.
Transport minister Seiji Maehara, along with other younger-generation
lawmakers, is likely to be on the shortlist to challenge the 63-year-old
veteran in the Democratic party of Japan's presidential election scheduled for
Friday, party sources said.
On Wednesday, Kan made clear his intention to run. The Hatoyama government
''did not have sufficient time to fulfill what people expected from the DPJ,''
Kan told reporters after meeting with Hatoyama, adding he is ready to ''take
over and carry out'' the task.
Maehara declined to say whether he will join the race, only commenting,
''Nothing has been decided yet.''
Government Revitalization Minister Yukio Edano, whose name had earlier been
floated as a possible candidate, expressed his support for Kan.
Given Kan's portfolio as a key member of the Hatoyama Cabinet, there is
opposition within the DPJ, especially among younger lawmakers, to letting him
lead the party's campaign for the upcoming House of Councillors election at a
time when the party needs a major facelift to restore public support that has
declined to a critical level.
The new DPJ leader will automatically become Japan's prime minister given the
dominance of the coalition led by the party in the powerful House of
Representatives.
Kan, who served as DPJ president when it was in opposition, has already come
under criticism from some party colleagues for the recent sharp falls in public
approval ratings for the Cabinet.
Hatoyama and the party have come under pressure amid funding scandals involving
the premier himself and DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, as well as from a
dispute over the planned relocation of a key U.S. military base in Okinawa
Prefecture and the subsequent departure of the Social Democratic Party from the
tripartite coalition government.
Party insiders say Maehara, 48, appears to have been spearheading the criticism
of the party's old guard.
But the selection of the new leader will likely be affected by the decision of
some old party members, notably Ozawa, the most influential figure within the
party who leads an intraparty group of around 150 DPJ lawmakers.
Kozo Watanabe, an outspoken DPJ veteran who is often at odds with Ozawa, last
month named Kan, Maehara and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada as possible
successors to Hatoyama.
Kan has around 40 lawmakers in his group and could unite with Hatoyama in the
presidential race. Fully aware that he needs support from the Ozawa-led group,
Kan has maintained a good relationship with Ozawa.
Ozawa said the party must prevent the current political confusion from creating
a ''political vacuum,'' stressing the need to quickly install a new leadership
to prepare for the upper house election expected to be held on July 11. He
declined to reveal who should be the party's next leader.
But few DPJ members ''take his words at face value,'' one of the party's
lawmakers said, noting that the very short preparation period given to
candidates would work in favor of Kan, whom he described as a candidate of
''yokozuna (grand champion) class.''
''We don't have enough time to get an anti-Ozawa prime minister,'' said the
lawmaker who has maintained a distance from Ozawa.
Observers said if Kan is elected with such support, Ozawa's influence as a
political fixer will be maintained inside the new Cabinet as well as the party.
Those who want to block such a move are throwing their weight behind the likes
of Maehara and Okada, they said.
''We will not be able to perform strongly in the upper house election without a
fresh Cabinet,'' another DPJ member said, warning the party should ''resist a
move toward naming a prime minister who acts as Mr. Ozawa's puppet.''
A member close to Maehara said, ''We can support Mr. Kan, but only on condition
that the influence of Mr. Ozawa will be eliminated.''
Okada, who squared off against Hatoyama in the party leadership race before
last year's general election, is seen as a competitive candidate. However,
Okada helped work out the relocation plan for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma
Air Station within Okinawa, an issue that eventually cost Hatoyama his job as
prime minister and some see Okada's involvement in the issue as a negative
factor.
Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi and Yoshito
Sengoku, national policy minister, are also viewed as possible candidates. On
Wednesday, Sengoku ruled himself out of the race while Haraguchi said, ''I will
fight'' when I need to.''
==Kyodo
2010-06-03 00:01:09