Koizumi bounds to front in Japan PM race

Ruling party members count ballots in Sunday's primary elections in Osaka

By Marina Kamimura
Tokyo Bureau Chief

TOKYO (CNN) -- Self-proclaimed reformer Junichiro Koizumi swept local primaries over the weekend, putting him in a commanding position to win the next round of voting and become Japan's prime minister.

The second phase of voting will come Tuesday among the Liberal Democratic Party's 346 members of parliament or Diet. Koizumi supporters are now betting the LDP parliamentarians will not ignore what LDP members are saying nationwide.

Audio Lingnan College professor Brian Bridges talks about Koizumi's plans for economic reform. 32 sec./351KB AIFF or WAV sound

"With the satisfactory results we obtained all over the country yesteday, I am expecting Diet members to hear the voices of LDP members nationwide," Koizumi told reporters.

The LDP, attempting to address criticism of its closed door tactics, opened up the current elections to give its local or pefectural chapters a bigger say in who is elected.

As of Monday evening, Koizumi, 59, had taken 123 of the 141 votes in play in the prefectures.

Koizumi's gains came at the expense of Ryutaro Hashimoto, a former prime minister and the favorite going into the campaign.

However, Hashimoto vowed not to quit. "I will fight through until the last minute as the rules allow," said Hoshimoto, who is thought to have more strength with party power brokers in the Diet.

"This game includes the primaries and the final election. Whether there will be an extra-inning depends on the umpires."

However, there were signs that Koizumi's strength was gaining as parliament members witnessed the voting from party members.

Koizumi's victory reflects a deep divide between ruling party elders and the rank-and-file.

Mop-top crusader

Age 59, he comes directly from the LDP's traditional power structure but with his salt-and-pepper mop-top and an impassioned speakingstyle, he has cultivated the image of a challenger to the status quo.

Public support of the traditional LDP powerbrokers has withered as the country's economy sours.

Hashimoto, his nearest competitor, had only 15 votes.

Party policy chief Shizuka Kamei had three votes, and a fourth candidate, Economy Minister Taro Aso, had none.

Drop out of race

Kamei said on Monday that he would drop out of the race, Kyodo news agency reported.

Kyodo said that Kamei, who was given little chance of victory in the final vote on Tuesday, would withdraw and throw the support of his faction behind reform candidate Junichiro Koizumi.

Under a system put in place this year, the LDP -- which has ruled Japan almost uninterrupted since 1955 -- allowed local chapters to participate in the vote for party president.

The new system has been central to Koizumi's success in turning his popularity among the grass roots into power.

Some said a resounding victory in the local voting would make it difficult for party elders to turn their backs on the 2.3 million rank-and-file members and support Hashimoto on Tuesday.

Simple majority needed

The winner needs to get a simple majority of the total 487 votes cast -- the sum of the 141 local votes and the 346 LDP lawmaker votes. Should no candidate win a majority on Tuesday, there will be a runoff later in the day between the two top vote-getters.

"I will battle to the end," Hashimoto said.

The full Parliament is to pick a successor later this week to Mori, whose one year in office has been tarnished with a series of scandals and his own political missteps. The vote had been scheduled for Thursday, but news reports said it had been postponed until Friday.

Mori's support ratings have dropped to below 10 percent, forcing him to call an early election for new party president and worrying many LDP members that the party was in danger of losing its grip on power.

Elections for the upper house of Parliament are scheduled for July, and the party's eagerness to refurbish its image has contributed to Koizumi's popularity among the rank-and-file.

The vote also comes as Japan is grappling with a decade-long economic slide. A gradual recovery from recession has fizzled, unemployment is still at near-record highs and the financial system is still weighed down with bad debt left over from the 1980s.

Many voters blame Hashimoto, 63, for running Japan's economy into the ground when he was prime minister from 1996 to 1998. He has struggled to convince the public and younger party members he deserves another chance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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