Rival camps woo DPJ freshmen / Kan, Ozawa seek votes among uncommitted first-term lawmakers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

In trying to secure support in the Democratic Party of Japan's upcoming presidential election, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa are trying to win over the party's 156 first-term lawmakers.

About one-third of all DPJ legislators are believed to be undecided over whom to support in the Sept. 14 election. The prevailing view is that Ozawa has more support from DPJ Diet members, while Kan leads among DPJ local assembly members, rank-and-file party members and supporters eligible to vote in the election.

The Ozawa side is confident it has the support of more than 130 of the 412 DPJ Diet members. Diet members constitute the largest electoral bloc, with each lawmaker's vote counting as two in the election. The Kan camp says nearly 100 Diet members have expressed support for the prime minister.

Both sides are vying for the 143 newly elected members of the House of Representatives and the 13 new members of the House of Councillors. These freshman lawmakers do not belong to any particular intraparty group, and many remain undecided about whom to support in the race.

A member of the Ozawa camp said: "Since Ozawa helped most [freshman lawmakers] in their campaigns for the Diet when he was party president or secretary general, we already know about 50 of them are on our side. Make no mistake, a majority will eventually support Ozawa."

However, a member of the Kan camp said: "A lot of newly elected Diet members are reluctant to support Ozawa, because of harsh criticism by the public and their supporters about [Ozawa's] involvement in a political funds scandal. Most undecided freshmen lawmakers will support Kan in the end."

Keeping these freshman Diet members in mind, Ozawa plans to visit individual legislators' offices in the Diet members' office buildings to make direct requests for support.

The Kan camp will make similar calls on DPJ lawmakers, with Kan's wife Nobuko and Satsuki Eda, former upper house president and head of Kan's campaign, standing in for the busy prime minister.