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Japan 'in safe hands'
14/09/2007 13:00 - (SA)
Tokyo - Yasuo Fukuda, a ruling party veteran who has emerged as favourite to become Japan's next prime minister, is seen as a safe pair of hands to lead the country after its previous scandal-hit cabinet.
Aged 71, he is a party elder who enjoys wide support within the governing conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Seen as a moderate, Fukuda has in the past emphasised the need for Japan to pursue a pro-Asian diplomacy.
He was the longest-serving top government spokesperson in Japanese history, having served as chief cabinet secretary for a record 1 289 days under prime ministers Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi, outgoing premier Sinzo Abe's immediate predecessor.
With a dry turn of phrase reminiscent of his late father, ex-premier Takeo Fukuda, the second-generation politician earned respect for limiting damage caused by gaffes and scandals involving Mori's government.
He rose from backbench obscurity to become the top government spokesperson in October 2000 under Mori after Hidenao Nakagawa quit partly due to a scandal involving a bar hostess.
When Koizumi replaced Mori in April 2001, he retained Fukuda as his right hand man, reflecting a mutual trust and longstanding ties dating to Koizumi's political apprenticeship under Fukuda's father in the mid-1970s.
Major contender
Under Koizumi, Fukuda acted not only as the government's chief-of-staff and spokesperson, but actively participated in the nation's diplomacy.
Fukuda has stressed the need to maintain close ties with the United States and China, and is opposed to visits to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine which is seen by other Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
First elected to the House of Representatives in 1990, Fukuda has in the past often been tipped as a future prime minister.
The self-proclaimed "optimist" and wine-lover was considered a possible successor to Koizumi but resigned in 2004 after admitting he had failed to pay pension premiums.
A graduate of Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University, Fukuda worked at a petroleum company before becoming a secretary to his father upon the latter's election to the premiership in 1976.
He was widely seen as a major contender in the leadership race in 2006 but opted out at the last minute.
- AFP
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