PROFILE: LDP leader Tanigaki known as party heavyweight, policy expert+

TOKYO, Sept. 28 Kyodo -
Former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, a veteran Liberal Democratic Party
member known as a mild-mannered policy expert, will challenge the behemoth
ruling Democratic Party of Japan as the leader of the opposition party.

The urgent task for Tanigaki, now serving in his 10th term as a member of the
House of Representatives, is how to unite his party and compile policies to
counter the DPJ, which toppled the LDP from power in the late-August election,
putting an end to its effective one-party rule of more than 50 years.
A son of a former education minister who represents a single-seat constituency
in Kyoto Prefecture, the 64-year-old Tokyo native has also been land,
infrastructure, transport and tourism minister, and chairman of the National
Commission on Public Safety, among other Cabinet posts.
Tanigaki has also been chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council and led a
faction of his own for several years until May 2008. He now belongs to a
faction led by former Secretary General Makoto Koga.
Tanigaki is considered a liberal in the party, partly due to his association
with former party Secretary General Koichi Kato, who rebelled against then
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in 2000.
He is known for his expertise in policy affairs and advocates raising the
consumption tax from the current 5 percent to pay for ballooning social
security costs.
Tanigaki is a graduate of the Law Department of the prestigious University of
Tokyo and also a certified lawyer. An avid cyclist, he often cycles long
distances on weekends.
He has two daughters with his wife Keiko.
==Kyodo