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Koike eyes bid as Japan's first woman PM
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-04 14:15

A Kyodo News poll also said Aso was the most popular choice with the public. More than 35 percent of voters named him as their favourite among 10 possibilities, with Koike receiving nine percent.


Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Taro Aso, center, is surrounded by reporters after Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced his resignation, at the party headquarters in Tokyo, early Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008. [Agencies]

Aso, a former foreign minister, publicly backed Koizumi-era reforms but is seen as more supportive of government spending to boost the economy.

Aso has run unsuccessfully three times to be prime minister. The former Olympic marksman is known for his hawkish views, although he has softened his image in recent years by highlighting his love of comic books and pop culture.

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Currently the LDP's secretary general, he is expected to formally announce his candidacy on Monday and make election pledges, including new stimulus measures to put the brakes on an economic slowdown.

"The front-runner is Aso. That's for sure. For the LDP, Koike is a gamble," said Hidekazu Kawai, honorary professor of politics at Gakushuin University in Tokyo.

He likened Koike to the failed US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying she would energise Japanese women voters.

"I think many people would support her if she keeps her spirits high," said Kuniko Inoguchi, the minister for gender equality issues under Koizumi.

The LDP election "isn't something just for men to hold and debate about," she said.

Japan has one of the developed world's lowest rates of female representation among politicians and corporate executives. Only 89, or 12 percent, of the 722 members of parliament are women.

The LDP has been in power for all but 10 months since it was created in 1955. But it lost control of one house last year to the opposition, which has tried to block the LDP agenda in hopes of winning the next elections.

"To break the current impasse, I wanted to refresh the system with new members. I want to show an LDP full of energy," Fukuda, widely criticised for his sudden resignation, told party members Tuesday.

Other potential candidates to succeed him include Nobuteru Ishihara, son of nationalist Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara.