Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe was elected head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) by a landslide Sept. 20, a victory that is expected to lead to his election as prime minister.
Abe won 464 of 702 votes, a majority of 66 percent. Foreign Minister Taro Aso came in second with 136 votes and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki won 102 votes.
Abe, 52, would be Japan's youngest postwar prime minister and the first born after World War II.
He is relatively inexperienced, having joined the Diet in 1993 and taken his first Cabinet position only a year ago.
The son of a foreign minister and grandson of a prime minister, Abe is also a proponent of a hard line against North Korea, and a more militarily assertive Japan.
He is expected to seek to change the pacifist constitution to give the military more freedom of action and bolster the security alliance with Japan's top ally, the United States.
Despite his inexperience, Abe came to the vote with high support ratings inside and outside the party and the blessing of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who remains widely popular after five years as prime minister. (AP)
安倍氏が大差で自民総裁に
自民党の総裁選挙が20日行なわれ、官房長官の安倍晋三氏が新総裁に選出された。
Shukan ST: Sept. 29, 2006
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