Nationalist candidate set to clinch presidency of Japan's ruling party

JAPAN: Shinzo Abe, the nationalist favorite to become Japan's next prime minister, headed into Wednesday's vote for the leadership of the ruling party all but guaranteed of victory.

Workers started counting ballots sent in from regional chapters of the Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday morning ahead of the crucial casting of votes by the ruling party's members of parliament later in the day.

Abe, currently chief Cabinet secretary, was confident of securing a majority of the 703 votes to win a three-year term as LDP president, a position that is almost certain to lead to his election as prime minister by parliament next week.

"The voting is right at the corner," Abe told reporters Wednesday morning. "My feeling is that I have firmly accomplished what needed to be done."

Abe, 51, would be Japan's youngest postwar prime minister and the first born after World War II. He is relatively inexperienced: He joined the parliament in 1993 and assumed his first Cabinet position only a year ago.

The son of a foreign minister and grandson of a prime minister, Abe has campaigned on forging a more assertive Japan. He would seek to revise the pacifist constitution to give the military more freedom of action, take a hard line with North Korea and bolster the security alliance with Japan's top ally, the United States.

Despite his inexperience, Abe came to the vote with key essentials for victory: high support ratings inside and outside the party and the blessing of his mentor, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Because Abe's victory appeared certain, his competition has been lackluster. Challengers such as Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso never came close to rivaling Abe in popularity or a vision for Japan's future.

Their comments early Wednesday reflected their inability to make a dent in Abe's appeal.

TOKYO, Wednsday, AP