Kan-Ozawa battle for DPJ leadership heats up+

TOKYO, Aug. 27 Kyodo -
Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers intensified their efforts Friday to whip up
support for the two major contenders in the ruling party's leadership election
next month, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Ichiro Ozawa, a longtime political
kingpin.
A tug-of-war between the two camps escalated a day after Ozawa's announcement
he would run in the election on Sept. 14, which will virtually determine
whether Kan can continue to serve as prime minister after only about three
months in office.
Kan shrugged off widespread concerns that the party could split apart because
Ozawa is challenging him.
''I'm sure that all party members will be able to work together after the
election,'' Kan told reporters.
Ozawa, who held the party's No. 2 post of secretary general until June, is
focused on garnering votes through major organizations affiliated with the DPJ
or his personal ties, while Kan is likely to put more emphasis on appealing to
rank-and-file supporters of the party and the general public.
Ozawa met with Yoshifumi Tsuge, who heads the national organization of
postmasters, requesting the use of its wide networks to back the power broker's
bid in the race.
Ozawa promised Tsuge he will seek early passage of a bill to scale back the
ongoing process to privatize Japan's postal services if he becomes prime
minister, according to attendees of the meeting.
He also held talks with Japanese Trade Union Confederation head Nobuaki Koga to
call for cooperation from the DPJ's largest support group.
Ozawa told Koga he will find an opportunity to explain his stance on a money
scandal involving his former secretaries to the public.
While Ozawa heads the DPJ's largest intraparty group, Kan showed his confidence
in taking the upper hand in the tough battle, telling reporters he ''feels
uplifted.''
Many opinion polls have shown Kan ahead of other potential DPJ leaders,
possibly because the public has become weary of seeing a rapid succession of
Japanese prime ministers while the country is facing a prolonged economic
slump.
The campaigning for the election will officially kick off next Wednesday.
Besides DPJ lawmakers and local assembly members, rank-and-file supporters of
the party will be eligible to vote for the first time since 2002 in the
election.
==Kyodo
2010-08-27 20:29:40


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