Conservative Abe on route to be Japan's youngest premier

JAPAN: Shinzo Abe, the scion of a political dynasty, is a straight-laced, dyed-in-the-wool conservative poised to be Japan's first prime minister born after World War II.

A 51-year-old who would be Japan's youngest post-war premier, Abe is a political protege but in personality a foil to incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, a self-styled eccentric.

Abe, who serves as Koizumi's right-hand man in the role of chief cabinet secretary, built his career talking tough on communist North Korea and champions a more assertive role for Japan on the world stage.

One of his most passionate causes is revising the pacifist constitution, which was imposed on a defeated Japan by the United States in 1947, seven years before he was born into a leading political family.

"The time has come for our generation, who did not experience the war, to take the responsibility" to lead Japan, Abe said last month in his home constituency of southwestern Yamaguchi prefecture.

Abe was Friday formally entering the race to succeed the retiring Koizumi in a September 20 vote of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He reportedly already enjoys support from a majority of lawmakers.

Koizumi, Japan's longest serving premier in three decades, is stepping down after five-and-a-half years in office despite winning wide popularity with his offbeat charisma that broke the mould in Japan's staid political circles.

With his lion's mane of salt-and-pepper hair, Koizumi has famously played air guitar in front of US President George W. Bush and written his own liner notes to a CD of Elvis Presley songs.

About the most non-conformist aspect of Abe is pictures showing he prefers Macintosh to Windows computer systems.

Abe's favorite food, his official biography states, is ramen noodles, a choice that has no criticism in Japan. Unlike Koizumi, who is known for elliptical soundbites, Abe always speaks in formal complete sentences.

But Abe shares Koizumi's media savvy. The younger politician became a household name demanding tough action against North Korea, standing in solidarity with families of Japanese civilians kidnapped by Pyongyang.

While Abe has been careful not to criticize his mentor, he has appeared to veer to his right. Koizumi flew twice to Pyongyang in high-stakes bids to normalize relations and has warned against isolating the impoverished regime.

Abe took on a premier-like role in July after North Korea test-fired seven missiles in Japan's direction. He called for Japan to debate a theoretical pre-emptive strike on North Korea, hawkish comments which are extremely rare for a top official of the pacifist country.

Abe has also backed Koizumi's pilgrimages to the Yasukuni shrine, which honors war dead and war criminals. Koizumi has visited the shrine six times in office, infuriating neighboring countries haunted by Japan's past aggression.

Abe's grandfather Nobusuke Kishi served in the wartime cabinet and was jailed as a top war criminal, although he was not tried. Kishi later became prime minister, fighting leftists to build the new alliance with Washington.

"His feeling of national pride is very pronounced," said political analyst Ikuo Kabashima. "More than any other candidate, Abe was groomed to be a popular politician."

His father was Shintaro Abe, a foreign minister who never achieved his ambition of becoming prime minister. Shinzo Abe took his father's parliament seat in 1993 following his death and now looks set to fulfill his goal.

Tokyo, Friday, AFP