Japan - Koizumi endorses hawkish candidate Abe as successor

Associated Press (excerpt) ^ | September 9, 2006

[HAL9000]

Excerpt -

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi endorsed hawkish Shinzo Abe, the front-runner in the ruling party leadership race, as his successor, Kyodo News agency reported Saturday.

Koizumi said he will vote for Abe, serving chief Cabinet secretary in his government, in the Sept. 20 election to pick a new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Kyodo reported from Helsinki, Finland, where the prime minister is attending the Asia-Europe Meeting.

Koizumi, who took office in April 2001, has said he will step down when his current term as ruling party head ends at the end of September. The new LDP leader is virtually guaranteed of being elected the next prime minister by Parliament later in the month because of the party's strong majority.

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[Calvin Coollidge]

Good news.

[Perdogg]

Wasn't Abe once the foreign minister??

[308MBR]

Japan is going to need a strong leader in the coming days to deal with Chinese and North Korean aggression, I'm afraid.

[July 4th]

Shinzo Abe.



Honest Abe.

[mikeybaby]

Japan-no natural resources, very little land and still they damned near whipped us in WWII.
Don't mis-underestimate these guys.
What a great ally.
W was right to tighten these guys up-and this guy will likely push for offensive military capability.
Good for them-and us.

[Malesherbes]

Well said.