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Joins race for Premier

P. S. Suryanarayana

Shinzo Abe

SINGAPORE: Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe on Friday declared his intention to join the race for the Prime Minister's post, expected to fall vacant later this month because of incumbent Junichiro Koizumi's decision to retire. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the main constituent of the ruling coalition, is scheduled to elect a new leader on September 20, and the person so chosen will succeed Mr. Koizumi under the present political plan. Mr. Abe, believed to be the early favourite on the basis of some opinion polls, will face Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, both of whom had already announced their candidacy. Known to be Mr. Koizumi's close associate, Mr. Abe indicated that he would, if elected, fine-tune some major policies. His top priorities would include the formulation of a "new Constitution that is written by our own hands" and a "strengthened" alliance with the United States. Japan's present Constitution, known for its "pacifism," was crafted by the U.S. after the Second World War. Mr. Abe, however, maintained that these moves would not come in the way of his other parallel policy of seeking to reverse the downhill trend in Japan's relations with China and South Korea.

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