Aso Taro is the new president of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). As expected, he won in a landslide, receiving roughly two-thirds of all votes (351 of 527 votes).He received 217 of 386 parliamentary votes to 64 for Yosano Kaoru, 46 for Koike Yuriko, 36 for Ishihara Nobuteru, and 21 for Ishiba Shigeru.After rejecting him …
Tag: Aso Taro
The prefectural vote
Yomiuri reports that Aso Taro's final tally in the prefectural voting was 134 out of 141 votes.Ishiba Shigeru received four, Yosano Kaoru received two, Ishihara Nobuteru received one, and Koike Yuriko received zero.Yomiuri has declared Mr. Aso the next LDP president, although the results of the vote among parliamentary members has not been announced yet.
Aso’s big weekend
The LDP's parliamentarians are gathering to vote for the next party president at this very moment, but the outcome is all but assured.Thirty of forty-seven LDP prefectural chapters voted over the weekend, and those thirty gave all but six of their ninety votes to Mr. Aso.Koike Yuriko received zero votes. Ishiba Shigeru received all three …
No honeymoon for Aso
Voting will begin today in the LDP's presidential election, which looks to be little more than a coronation for Aso Taro.Ishikawa prefecture had its vote on Saturday, and it appears that Ishikawa will give all three of its votes to Mr. Aso. I expect Ishikawa will be only the first of many sweeps to come.But …
The DPJ and PNP draw closer
Pushing the DPJ to the headlines again for the first time since Prime Minister Fukuda resigned at the start of September, the Democratic Party of Japan and the People's New Party are reportedly close to an agreement to merge. Ozawa Ichiro met with his counterpart Watanuki Tamisuke Tuesday to discuss a merger, and indicated to …
Koizumi speaks
Just one day after telling an audience of young reformers that he would not say who he was supporting, it appears that Koizumi Junichiro has come out in support of Koike Yuriko, the woman who he elevated to his cabinet shortly after her arrival in the LDP.Sankei reports that Mr. Koizumi met Friday with Koike …
Aso seals the deal, and the LDP pats itself on the back
The campaign to replace Fukuda Yasuo as LDP president and prime minister officially began on Wednesday, with the five candidates — Aso Taro, Koike Yuriko, Yosano Kaoru, Ishihara Nobuteru, and Ishiba Shigeru — holding a joint press conference before traveling the country to campaign.The press conference makes clear just how farcical claims of the LDP's …
Continue reading Aso seals the deal, and the LDP pats itself on the back
Election envy?
Ozawa Ichiro has effectively been elected to a third term as leader of the DPJ; not surprisingly, no one else filed to run in the party leadership election.At the same time, the LDP field has widened to five candidates, each with markedly different viewpoints.Not surprisingly, Mr. Ozawa's uncontested reelection has been unfavorably contrasted with the …
The field gets crowded
On Friday I noted that the LDP was shaping up with four candidates.Not long after I wrote that post, however, it became clear that the field would expand before long, in large part because younger LDP members like Yamauchi Koichi are unhappy with their choices.As a result, Ishiba Shigeru (51), the former defense minister, Yamamoto …
The LDP field coalesces
Despite a political situation that has already consumed the careers of two LDP prime ministers — cowards, says Newsweek's Christian Caryl, and he has a point — there are now four candidates running to serve as the next LDP president and prime minister.I think Aso Taro remains the front runner, for reasons enunciated here and …
Tobias S. Harris 