JAPAN: Candidates of Japan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan look to take party candidates debate for prime minister post ahead of leadership vote.

Record ID: 466752

  • Title: JAPAN: Candidates of Japan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan look to take party candidates debate for prime minister post ahead of leadership vote.
  • Date: 10th September 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 10, 2012) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE FOR CANDIDATES IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF JAPAN SIGN SHOWING LOGO OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF JAPAN CANDIDATES SHAKING HANDS MORE OF CANDIDATES SHAKING HANDS CAMERA PERSON FILMING CANDIDATES JOURNALISTS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER YOSHIHIKO NODA SAYING: "In order to revitalize the party, and revitalize the country, and strengthen what we've been looking to do I don't believe it's good to stop and let go and leave things undone." CANDIDATES HOLDING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER YOSHIHIKO NODA SAYING: "I've looked to make policy to reflect Asia as well. Whether about land rights or territory, there are indeed a number of concerns but I hope to calmly deal with them and our country should be both a seafaring and trading country." JOURNALIST ASKING QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) FORMER FARM MINISTER, HIROTAKA AKAMATSU SAYING: "We have to see if we can move that date forward if possible. What's important there is finding sources of energy to substitute in its place. So you need to have incentives. That's the government's responsibility and shouldn't be left to the electric companies. The government had pursued nuclear energy as a national policy and so it should also properly deal with renewables as well." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) FORMER INTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER KAZUHIRO HARAGUCHI SAYING: "It's not that's you can just apologize for something if you then realize your thinking was wrong. You have to ask if in the next general election if you'll give us the right to raise the sales tax. Only then should we raise it." JOURNALISTS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) FORMER FARM MINISTER MICHIHIKO KANO SAYING: "What's being asked of us is to come together within the country now. If the ruling party can't come together, then it's not possible for us to properly fulfill our responsibility to the people." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 25th September 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABAGVGUC1SQ7Q1R1UQZMXZOKQ6
  • Story Text: Candidates for Japan's ruling party laid out their policies on Monday (September 10) as they looked to battle for Japan's premiership, although the party itself is likely to lose in a full general election.
    The Democratic Party of Japan election commission confirmed on Monday that besides Noda, there would be three fringe contenders running in the Sept. 21 leadership contest - former farm ministers Hirotaka Akamatsu and Michihiko Kano and an ex-internal affairs minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi.
    With no party heavyweights on the roster, Noda is likely to retain his post as government and party chief.

    "In order to revitalize the party, and revitalize the country, and strengthen what we've been looking to do I don't believe it's good to stop and let go and leave things undone," Noda said.
    He also emphasized his policies towards the rest of Asia, something that has come to the fore with recent disputed between South Korea and China over disputed islands.

    "I've looked to make policy to reflect Asia as well. Whether about land right or territory, there are indeed a number of concerns but I hope to calmly deal with them and our country should be both a seafaring and trading country," Noda said.
    In his election pledge, Noda said he would bring a lasting end to deflation that has plagued Japan for a decade and hit a 1 percent inflation target within a year. The Democrats' third prime minister in as many years also promised to work towards ending reliance on nuclear power, though he gave no deadline.
    Others, such as Akamatsu, said that the government should work to end its reliance on nuclear power as it was a one of the major reasons why it became so prevalent.

    "We have to see if we can move that date forward if possible. What's important there is finding sources of energy to substitute in its place. So you need to have incentives. That's the government's responsibility and shouldn't be left to the electric companies. The government had pursued nuclear energy as a national policy and so it should also properly deal with renewables as well," Akamatsu said about the date of which the country reached no nuclear energy.
    Last month's passage of the tax bill marked a rare break in Japan's long political gridlock and the biggest accomplishment of Noda's one-year tenure, but it came at a steep price.
    About 70 lawmakers left the Democrats, with the rest bracing for voter backlash for backing the tax hike and other unpopular policies, such as Noda's push to restart nuclear reactors idled after last year's Fukushima disaster.
    Even within Noda's challengers, ex-internal affairs minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi said that Noda didn't have the right to raise sales taxes without a full election.

    "It's not that's you can just apologize for something if you then realize your thinking was wrong. You have to ask if in the next general election if you'll give us the right to raise the sales tax. Only then should we raise it," Haraguchi said.
    Many of the candidates have called for party unity as they head to a election.

    "What's being asked of us is to come together within the country now. If the ruling party can't come together, then it's not possible for us to properly fulfill our responsibility to the people," ex-farm minister Michihiko Kano said.
    If he is reelected, Noda's immediate challenge will be to win approval of the opposition-controlled upper house for new borrowing in the current budget to avoid a government shutdown.
    Whoever takes over after the election, many expect to be held in November, will face substantial unfinished business and a long list of deep-rooted problems dogging the world's third-largest economy and its 10th most populous country.
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