TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's ruling party on Sunday chose centrist political veteran Yasuo Fukuda as the country's next prime minister, seeking safe hands after a disastrous year under conservative Shinzo Abe.
Fukuda, 71, a dour-looking behind-the-scenes operator who openly admits he lacks charisma, easily fended off a challenge from hawkish former foreign minister Taro Aso in the race to lead the world's second largest economy.
Wearing his usual grey suit, Fukuda bowed before members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which he acknowledged was facing "huge difficulties."
"I want the LDP to be born again so it regains the public trust and is able to steadfastly carry out policies," Fukuda said.
Fukuda quickly reached out to the opposition, which won control of one house of parliament in a landmark election victory in July and vowed to press the incoming prime minister to call a snap general poll.
Holding a news conference later Sunday, Fukuda called for dialogue with the opposition on extending a naval mission supporting US-led forces in Afghanistan, an issue on which Abe had staked his job.
Fukuda will be Japan's oldest prime minister on entering office since 1991, a stark contrast to the 53-year-old Abe, who was Japan's youngest leader in recent times and faced criticism that he was too inexperienced.
"Although I haven't assessed all of the details, I wonder if people think that I'm a bit stable or old enough that I'm not going to do something strange," Fukuda said.
Abe, an outspoken conservative who campaigned to build a "beautiful nation" freed from legacies of World War II defeat, abruptly resigned September 12 amid scandals, sliding approval ratings and opposition intransigence on the Afghan mission.
Abe, who was considered a bright young face for the LDP when he took over a year ago this week, checked himself into a hospital after his resignation for treatment of extreme stress and exhaustion.
Abe pledged to stand behind Fukuda, whose views on issues ranging from North Korea to wartime history are more centrist than the outgoing leader's.
"I apologise to party members and especially to all the Japanese people that I created this political vacuum after I announced my resignation at such an important time," Abe said in a letter read to the LDP meeting.
Abe may re-emerge Monday to hold a final news conference at his hospital, said his government's spokesman, Kaoru Yosano.
Analysts say the LDP wanted a respite from the ideologically driven Abe and his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi, who won elections through his flamboyant style but spearheaded free-market reforms unpopular in the countryside.
"Fukuda is not charismatic but he is being viewed as a safe pair of hands," said Robert Dujarric, director of Temple University's Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies.
"They know he's not going to be totally incompetent."
Fukuda, a former oilman and top aide to premiers, received 330 votes among party members against 197 for Aso, the party announced. One vote was invalid.
The vote by LDP lawmakers and local officials made Fukuda party president. He is virtually assured of being installed as prime minister Tuesday by parliament, where an LDP-led coalition controls the more powerful lower house.
The Japan Business Federation, the country's main business lobby, urged Fukuda to continue free-market reforms that have proven increasingly controversial.
Fukuda has backed reforms but also pledged to ease the pain of rural voters, who feel left out of Japan's economic recovery and deserted the LDP in recent elections that put the opposition in control of the upper house for the first time.
Senior opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama congratulated Fukuda but called for a general election, which many observers predict will come by next year.
"The people's wishes are not just for a swapping of power within the LDP," Hatoyama said.
Fukuda held the powerful post of chief cabinet secretary, the top aide to the premier, for a record three-and-a-half years until 2004, developing a reputation for damage control and effective management of the bureaucracy.
He is known for his close contacts with China and for hobnobbing with Tokyo-based diplomats. He is the son of late prime minister Takeo Fukuda, who signed a peace-and-friendship treaty with China in 1978.
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