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Aso Chosen to Lead Japan
Taro Aso, a former foreign minister who delivers snappy speeches, reads manga comics and talks tough about China, was selected Monday to be Japan's next prime minister.
"Who else but our party can achieve policies in order to address the public's concerns?" Aso said after easily winning a party vote that had been viewed as a sure thing from the moment Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda abruptly announced Sept. 1 that he would quit. As prime minister, Aso will not have to call an election until the fall of next year. But Japan's economy is on the brink of recession, parliament is deadlocked and there is widespread public dissatisfaction with the ruling party. As a result, Aso may quickly dissolve parliament and schedule a nationwide election before his personal popularity dissipates. Recent polls show his approval ratings are slightly above 40 percent. There has been widespread speculation that an election could be called as early as next month, although Aso said last week that would be too soon, given the turmoil in world financial markets. In recent speeches, Aso has advocated the LDP's traditional cure-alls for what ails Japan -- tax cuts and increased public spending, especially on projects in rural areas that are the party's historic base. He has warned about the dangers of secretive Chinese military spending, but he also reassured China that he would "not view with hostility" that country's economic development. China is Japan's biggest trading partner. Posted by: Fred 2008-09-24 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=250853 |