Accord on forming DPJ-led coalition government possible on Tues.

TOKYO, Sept. 7 Kyodo -
(EDS: ADDING DETAILS, MOVING REFERENCE TO MINISTERIAL PANEL UPWARD)
Yukio Hatoyama, Japan's presumptive prime minister and president of the
Democratic Party of Japan, expressed hope Monday that the party will reach a
basic agreement soon with the Social Democratic Party and the People's New
Party on forming a tripartite coalition government, possibly on Tuesday.
Hatoyama also revealed plans to establish a ministerial committee for top-level
coalition officials to discuss issues of basic policy, which would be the main
forum for liaison between the three parties once they form a coalition
government.
Telling reporters that he wants to have thorough discussions with the DPJ's
prospective coalition partners, Hatoyama also indicated that the DPJ would
propose creating a consultative body at the policy-chief level of the three
parties.
The SDP has called for the establishment of a policy liaison body between the
three parties to ensure its influence within an expected coalition government
given the party's tiny presence in the House of Representatives.
''I would be grateful if an agreement is reached on a coalition government
soon, possibly tomorrow,'' Hatoyama told reporters. ''If an agreement is
reached, we could advance personnel matters through cooperation between the
three parties.''
But SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima cast doubt on the possibility of the three
parties' sealing a deal on Tuesday on the grounds that they have yet to sort
out policy differences.
A DPJ executive said the prime minister would not always take part in the
proposed ministerial committee because other officials like a deputy prime
minister who would concurrently serve as state strategy minister and the heads
of the SDP and the People's New Party would comprise the panel's standing
members.
On Monday, Hatoyama also said party executives endorsed his decision to appoint
former party leader Ichiro Ozawa as DPJ secretary general and expressed his
intention to ask the leaders of the DPJ's two allies to join his
soon-to-be-formed Cabinet.
''I told the executives that I want him (Ozawa) to conduct party business well
because there's a need to maintain the DPJ's character as a party strong in
elections and the House of Councillors election will be held next year,''
Hatoyama said. ''And they naturally endorsed my decision.''
Hatoyama has already decided on key Cabinet posts, including appointing Acting
President Naoto Kan as state minister in charge of the planned National
Strategy Bureau and deputy prime minister, Secretary General Katsuya Okada as
foreign minister, and Hirofumi Hirano, Hatoyama's top aide, as chief Cabinet
secretary.
But he said Monday that he had decided to postpone presenting names to the
meeting of party executives because the consultative talks with the two allies
are ongoing. The three parties will resume talks on Tuesday at the
secretary-general level.
Ozawa's appointment and that of Kan as the party's new Policy Research
Committee chairman in addition to his Cabinet portfolio are expected to be
finalized at a meeting of DPJ lawmakers from both chambers on Sept. 15.
As for other Cabinet posts, Hatoyama is eyeing tapping DPJ Supreme Adviser
Hirohisa Fujii as finance minister, while DPJ Policy Research Committee
chairman Masayuki Naoshima is likely to be given a Cabinet portfolio in the
field of economic affairs, according to party sources.
Akira Nagatsuma, deputy chairman of the party's Policy Research Committee, is
considered a strong candidate to join the Cabinet because of his experience in
dealing with the problem of lost pension records that surfaced under the
government led by the Liberal Democratic Party.
The DPJ, despite its majority in the lower house, needs the cooperation of the
SDP and the People's New Party as they partner with the DPJ to form a majority
in the upper house.
Hatoyama is expected to succeed Prime Minister and LDP President Taro Aso as
new premier at a special Diet session Sept. 16 due to the DPJ's majority in the
lower house.
In the Aug. 30 general election, the DPJ won 308 of the 480 seats in the more
powerful lower chamber, driving the LDP-led ruling coalition from power and
ending the LDP's almost continuous rule over more than half a century.
On Monday, Ozawa appeared to be bracing himself already for the upper house
election next summer.
''As the DPJ has yet to obtain a majority (on its own in the upper house)...we
have to win the election by all means,'' Ozawa, who is credited as the
architect of the DPJ's resounding victory in the general election, said at a
meeting of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, known as Rengo.
==Kyodo