Opposition LDP picks Tanigaki as new leader as it tackles renewal+

TOKYO, Sept. 28 Kyodo -
The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party chose former Finance Minister
Sadakazu Tanigaki as its new leader on Monday, apparently showing its desire to
play it safe for the sake of party unity as it works on renewal.

Tanigaki, 64, was elected the 24th LDP president by beating his two younger
contenders -- former Senior Vice Justice Minister Taro Kono and former
Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, both 46.
''I will give all my body and soul to do my duty so that my party can win back
the people's trust and return to power once again,'' Tanigaki told fellow party
members after the election. ''I will appeal to party members and the people
once more with the phrase I used during the campaigning, 'Let's do it
together.'''
Succeeding the top party post from Taro Aso, under whose leadership the LDP
suffered a drubbing in last month's national election, the veteran lawmaker
faces the daunting task of reviving a party that has become an opposition force
for only the second time in its 54-year history.
In Monday's vote, Tanigaki, a party heavyweight whose past portfolio also
includes minister of transport and chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council,
captured 300, or 60 percent, of the 498 valid ballots cast by party Diet
members and local chapters in the nation's 47 prefectures.
Tanigaki, a mild-mannered policy expert, appealed for reconciliation and unity,
and as a result, gained a wide range of support from party lawmakers, including
those in the faction leader-class positions and young rank-and-file members.
Meanwhile, Kono, a maverick and fiery critic of the LDP old guard and their
faction-based politics, demanded a generational shift to a younger leader and
faction leaders' retirement, provoking opposition from party executives and
concern about an internal rift.
Nishimura, the least-known figure among the three, appealed for an emphasis on
rural areas but lagged far behind the other two in popularity.
Of the 300 votes Tanigaki collected, 120 were cast by party lawmakers and 180
from local chapters. Kono gathered a total of 144 votes -- 35 from party
lawmakers and 109 from local chapters -- while Nishimura got 54, 43 of them
from party lawmakers.
The three submitted their candidacies on Sept. 18 for the presidential race for
a three-year term, two days after Aso resigned as party president and prime
minister and Yukio Hatoyama became the new Japanese leader.
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan trounced the LDP in the Aug. 30 House of
Representatives election, ending the LDP's almost continuous rule since it was
founded by Hatoyama's grandfather in 1955.
After the leadership race, Tanigaki, a former faction leader, pledged before
other party members to reform his party to fulfill its renewal. ''We will waste
no time in reforming the party, we need a drastic reform,'' he said.
At a news conference later, Tanigaki proposed reviewing the roles played by
party president and secretary general now that the LDP's leader is no longer
synonymous with premiership.
He also said he will consider creating a shadow Cabinet to competitively face
the DPJ-led ruling coalition over policy matters.
As to the appointment of other party executives, such as the secretary general
and Diet affairs chairman, Tanigaki said, ''I will come to the conclusion after
thinking it over tonight,'' showing readiness to make a quick decision, given
the need to prepare for debate in an upcoming Diet session and the two upper
house by-elections to be held in about a month.
Observers say that in the end, the new largest opposition party chose to play
it safe by picking a man on whom a majority of party members can settle but
with not much appeal to the public.
''Tanigaki might be a safe choice to gain party consensus, but he lacks the
impact on the people when the party also needs their support,'' said Junichi
Takase, a professor of information politics at Nagoya University of Foreign
Studies. ''It goes to show that the LDP does not have anyone who is trusted
within the party and is popular with the people at the same time.''
None of the three candidates was considered a favorite at first. It was House
of Councillors member Yoichi Masuzoe who was viewed as most likely to succeed
Aso, largely because of the popularity he gained as health minister, but he
decided against making a bid early on.
Lawmakers who had made bids in previous leadership races also followed suit.
The crucial test for the new LDP leader will be the upper house election next
summer. In the 242-seat chamber, the DPJ retains a majority with the help of
its two junior coalition partners -- the Social Democratic Party and the
People's New Party.
If the LDP can increase its presence in the chamber and force the DPJ-led
ruling coalition to lose its majority there, it will be able to block or delay
the coalition's legislative attempts.
But Takase is pessimistic about the LDP's prospects for regrouping and
regaining its support by the upper house election, partly because the party
continues to depend on vested interests in rural areas for votes when swing
votes are shaping up to be crucial in elections.
''(Tanigaki's victory) may settle things internally, but I doubt that the LDP
will be able to muster the strength to rival the DPJ or that it can take proper
measures to reach out to the nonaffiliated voters,'' he said.
The immediate test for the new leadership will come Oct. 25, when by-elections
for the upper house are to be held in two constituencies -- Kanagawa and
Shizuoka prefectures.
The by-elections, expected to pit DPJ and LDP candidates against each other,
will be the first national-level elections since the Hatoyama Cabinet was
formed Sept. 16.
==Kyodo