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06-25-090411ET
TOKYO (AFP)--Japan's prime minister was set to outline his social policy platform Thursday ahead of key elections as he struggles with low approval ratings, scandal in his cabinet and rebellion in his party.
Conservative leader Taro Aso, who must call a vote by September, was to speak about his social welfare reform plans, including greater support for families, low-income workers, the unemployed and other groups.
But in contrast to the program's catchphrase goal of a "peace of mind society, " his Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, is in disarray and riven by dissent just months ahead of key parliamentary elections.
Aso's approval ratings have dropped below 20% in most polls, giving the opposition Democratic Party of Japan a good chance of ending more than half a century of almost unbroken LDP rule.
The premier, who has lost three cabinet ministers since he took office last September, this week saw his finance minister accused of taking illegal donations in the latest scandal to hit Japanese politics.
Kaoru Yosano - a key Aso ally and the man charged with steering the economy through Japan's worst postwar recession - denied any wrongdoing following a report his fund-raising group received illegal donations from a futures trading firm.
Frustration has been rife in LDP ranks, with some members reportedly urging Aso to reshuffle cabinet and party positions before the election to give the party a fighting chance at the ballot box.
LDP member Taku Yamamoto has voiced open dissent against Aso's leadership and said he has collected about half of the 216 names needed to file a petition for a party leadership vote.
"If Prime Minister Aso moves to dissolve the house in an act of desperation, I will swiftly gather all the 216 names and move forward a presidential election," he wrote on his Web site.
Aso has kept Japan guessing on when he will dissolve parliament but most pundits expect elections to be held in August or early September.
A bellwether will be Tokyo metropolitan assembly elections on July 12.
The LDP, in its search for fresh faces, this week asked popular comedian- turned-governor Hideo Higashikokubaru to join its ranks.
And Higashikokubaru, the outspoken governor of Miyazaki prefecture, said he would be happy to accept the party's invitation - provided he could lead it.
TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Japan's embattled finance minister on Monday denied allegations he dined with an arrested former official of trading company Yamada Yoko Corp., but he failed to clear up suspicions that the two may have some ties.
Fukushiro Nukaga, in parliamentary testimony, repeated that he wasn't at a controversial dinner two years ago with ex-Yamada Yoko executive Motonobu Miyazaki. Miyazaki, 69, was recently arrested on suspicion of having stolen $1 million from the company, which specializes in defense equipment.
But by not clearly denying he played golf with Miyazaki, the finance minister Monday also failed to erase suspicions that the two in fact may have very close ties, providing the opposition camp with an excuse to further investigate the issue.
"I haven't done that [golf] recently (with Miyazaki), and I can't recall I've played it with Mr. Miyazaki," Nukaga said before a parliamentary committee as he was grilled by opposition-party lawmakers.
Whether Nukaga can prove his innocence over the allegations has important implications for the country's struggling ruling bloc.
There are suspicions that Miyazaki not only embezzled money but also inappropriately won some deals over purchases of defense equipment through his close ties with former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya. If any evidence surfaces that an incumbent finance minister also has a personal bond with Miyazaki, that could poorly reflect on the ruling Liberal Democrats and New Komeito, whose public approval rates are already falling.
The finance minister came under public scrutiny Thursday, when Moriya told parliament under oath that Nukaga was also at the dinner with Miyazaki, Moriya and a former U.S. Defense Department official, James Auer.
Nukaga has denied the allegations repeatedly. But Moriya's sworn testimony has done the ruling camp some damage. The opposition parties, which hold a majority in the upper house of parliament, jumped on Moriya's statement as a reason to postpone debate over bills to resume Japan's naval mission in the Indian Ocean - legislation that the ruling camp is desperate to pass to maintain the country's close relationship with the U.S.
There are also concerns that the passage of the national budget could be delayed if the finance minister becomes too busy with parliamentary testimony.
The opposition parties are planning to question Nukaga over the issue again at another parliament committee session Thursday.
Nukaga, who twice served as defense minister before taking his current post this year, also said Monday that he first met with Miyazaki four or five years ago and "knows (him) well." But he hasn't "frequently met with" Miyazaki since, Nukaga said.
Nukaga has so far said he has never been treated to dinner or any special events by Miyazaki or Moriya.
Earlier this month, Nukaga admitted he received about Y200,000 in "car fare" several years ago from Miyazaki, who back then asked him to come to a wedding party for a daughter of Yamada Yoko's chairman. But Nukaga had his wife give the money back as a gift to the newlyweds, he said.
Monday's testimony by Nukaga came after details of Moriya's ties with Miyazaki stunned the Japanese public and raised questions about Defense Ministry practices regarding purchases of equipment. When Miyazaki was at Yamada Yoko, which has long been involved in such purchases, he treated Moriya to hundreds of golf outings and trips over many years. Moriya has said he still paid about Y10, 000 himself each time, but local media have reported they played golf at clubs where green fees were typically Y50,000.
-By Takashi Nakamichi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; takashi.nakamichi@ dowjones.com
11-19-07 0343ET
06-25-090411ET
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