JAPAN: Japan's post-Koizumi era began in earnest yesterday as Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso, two of the three leading candidates to become prime minister next month, spelled out plans for a greater emphasis on robust diplomacy and military strength.
At a huge rally of the ruling Liberal Democratic party in Yokohama, Mr Abe, the chief cabinet secretary, stressed his wish to change the pacifist constitution, conduct diplomacy in Japan's national interest and reform education.
Mr Abe, a conservative, is almost certain to be elected party leader and replace Junichiro Koizumi, who will step down as prime minister in September. He enjoys a strong lead in opinion polls, with approval ratings of more than 40 per cent compared with single-digit scores for Mr Aso, Japan's foreign minister, and Sadakazu Tanigaki, the finance minister. Although the vote is conducted within the LDP, delegates are likely to be heavily swayed by popular opinion.
Mr Abe went straight to the subject of constitutional change and is likely to make the issue central to his campaign. Although he did not spell out his position in detail, aides say he supports clearly defining Japan's right to maintain military forces, which is barred under the constitution written by the US after the second World War. He is also in favour of Japan's right to participate in collective self-defence pacts, though this might not require constitutional change.
On education, Mr Abe supports diluting the emphasis on wartime guilt, which conservatives in the LDP argue has gone too far and undermines national pride.
All three main candidates hinted at differences with Mr Koizumi's five-year administration on diplomacy and the economy.
Both Mr Abe and Mr Aso stressed the need for good relations with China and South Korea, though neither spelled out how they would achieve that goal. Both men have supported Mr Koizumi's visits to the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which have enraged Beijing and Seoul.
Mr Koizumi's administration has generally been considered a success. But candidates have begun to distance themselves from some of its perceived excesses amid signs of a national backlash against what is characterised as a wholesale embrace of the free market.