Japan's former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda pledged on
Saturday that he would not visit the controversial Yasukuni shrine
if elected new Japanese prime minister.
Fukuda made the remarks when he formally announced his candidacy
earlier on Saturday for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s
presidential election.
He told a joint press conference held at the LDP headquarters in
the afternoon that Japan should build a secular national memorial
facility to commemorate the war dead, adding that "there is no need
to do things that others hate," according to the reports from Kyodo
News.
Fukuda is one of the most Asia-friendly Japanese politicians and
has close ties with China. He proposed to build a surrogate
national war memorial facility during his time serving as chief
Cabinet secretary in Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet.
LDP Secretary General Taro Aso also filed his candidacy for the
party helm on Saturday morning.
The two candidates agreed on the need to extend the Maritime
Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and
vowed to continue the course of structural reforms, the Kyodo News
reported.
It is currently a general estimate of Japanese media that Fukuda
is set to win in the duel to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as
eight out of all nine LDP factions have extended their support for
the seasoned politician.
The LDP decided on Thursday to hold the presidential election on
September 23 to pick a new president to replace Abe, who expressed
his intention to resign on Wednesday.
The LDP president will be naturally appointed prime minister
since the party enjoys the majority in the House of
Representatives, which holds the decisive power in the Diet.
(Xinhua News Agency September 16, 2007)
