Japan's outspoken Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who has riled neighboring countries with his hawkish comments, announced yesterday his bid to succeed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in September.
Aso is the first candidate to publicly throw his hat in the ring but he is expected to face stiff competition from Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe as well as veteran Yasuo Fukuda and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki.
"Among the four speculated candidates, only Taro Aso has so far made clear [his intention] to run in the election," Aso told a forum at a Tokyo hotel.
Neither Abe, seen as the most likely successor to Koizumi, nor Fukuda have yet officially announced their intentions to run but both are widely expected to stand and polls show they have strong public support. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which maintains a majority in parliament, will vote internally in September for its president who then becomes Japan's prime minister.
Some senior members of the ruling party are opposed to both standing because they belong to the same faction of the ruling party.
Although the race has not officially started yet, Aso, 65, is seen as lagging behind Abe, 51, and former top government spokesman Fukuda, 69. A survey showed last month some 40.1 percent of Japanese voters believed Abe was best suited to be prime minister.
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