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Koizumi stays `ahead' in LDP race

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE SEPT. 19. The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, is widely expected to retain the presidentship of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the election to be held on Saturday. Should he win, he will stay as Prime Minister and can seek a fresh mandate on his "reform agenda".

Mr. Koizumi's aim is to break the mould of the LDP's system of political factions that indulge in power-brokering and patronage-doling.

He has often aimed at reshaping the country that was first moulded by Shigeru Yoshida as a post-imperial nation that had lost World War II.

He has not only expressed confidence about his victory but also succeeded in putting his challengers on the defensive.

The tussle is between Mr. Koizumi and Masahiko Komura, Shizuka Kamei and Takao Fujii, all of whom advocate a return to the pre-Koizumi period of government initiatives to spend in order to stimulate the economy.

The policy of government spending as a catalyst was one of the factors that enabled the factions-based LDP to gain a firm hold on political power and patronage in the past.

Mr. Fujii's decision to jump into the fray is seen as an event that has pushed the most powerful Hashimoto bloc towards a crisis.

Headed by the former Prime Minister, Ryutaro Hashimoto, who lost the LDP presidential race to Mr. Koizumi in 2001, this faction did not actually endorse Mr. Fujii, a largely "untested politician'', despite his belonging to its ranks.

In the event, the Hashimoto faction has merely reconciled itself to "warmly sending (Mr. Fujii) on his way'' which means that the faction could vote freely.

Mr. Koizumi's prime opponents have indicated to reporters that party unity would be a theme regardless of the outcome.

Much speculation in political circles centres on the apparent new alliance between Mr. Koizumi and Mikio Aoki, Secretary General of the LDP Upper House caucus.

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