LDP, battered by election defeat, to seek renewal in opposition

TOKYO, Sept. 16 Kyodo -
The Liberal Democratic Party, which led postwar Japan to an economic miracle,
is set to begin its renewal process as an opposition party Wednesday with the
launch of a new government led by the rival Democratic Party of Japan.
Prime Minister Taro Aso and 17 other Cabinet ministers resigned en masse at a
special Cabinet meeting in the morning, paving the way for DPJ President Yukio
Hatoyama's election as the new prime minister at a special session of
parliament in the afternoon. Aso also resigned as party leader in the morning.
''Unfortunately, I have to stand down while I am still halfway through my
mission,'' Aso told his farewell news conference. ''I did my best for the sake
of Japan in the short time of about one year.''
Aso's departure set in motion the LDP's process of renewal after the party
suffered the heaviest defeat in its 54-year history in a general election late
last month. The only time the LDP was out of power was a period of about 11
months between 1993 and 1994, when eight opposition parties and groups formed a
tenuous coalition government.
Meanwhile, LDP lawmakers are to cast ballots for Masatoshi Wakabayashi,
chairman of the party's Joint Plenary Meeting of Party Members of Both Houses
of the Diet, in the vote to choose the next prime minister.
It is highly unusual for LDP members to vote for someone other than the party
leader on such an occasion, but the arrangement was worked out after some
members expressed reservations about casting ballots for Aso, under whose
leadership the party suffered the historic defeat.
In the Aug. 30 election, the once-dominant party lost nearly two-thirds of the
seats it held in the 480-seat House of Representatives prior to the contest,
while the DPJ saw the number of its seats nearly triple and captured nearly
two-thirds of the seats in the more powerful lower chamber.
Bruised by the defeat and facing the daunting task of renewal, the LDP will
hold a leadership election on Sept. 28 to choose a new party president, with
candidacies set to be formally accepted on Friday.
With opposition growing among mid-level and younger members of the LDP to the
party's faction-based leadership, a key issue in the upcoming race is likely to
be whether the leadership should shift to a younger generation.
''(The new LDP leader) should be a person who can deal with things properly by
keeping in mind the various analyses to be conducted from now on about what
went wrong with the LDP,'' Aso told reporters, urging his fellow party members,
both young and old, to come together as one.
So far, only two lawmakers have publicly expressed their intention to run in
the race to lead the LDP's efforts to revitalize itself and return to power.
Former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, a 64-year-old veteran lower house
member, declared his intention to run in the leadership race on Tuesday, while
Taro Kono, 46, a lower house member who belongs to a younger group of LDP
lawmakers, has said he will run if he can secure the 20 backers needed to
submit his candidacy.
Outgoing farm minister Shigeru Ishiba, 52, who has been regarded as a potential
candidate, said Wednesday in a press conference he has no plans to run in the
leadership election and will support Tanigaki in the race.
Itsunori Onodera, 49, has also been seen as a possible contender, but has yet
to express his intentions.
==Kyodo