Ozawa hot on Kan's tail in DPJ race

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa is hot on Prime Minister Naoto Kan's tail in the party's presidential race, according to the latest Yomiuri Shimbun survey and other sources.

The survey queried DPJ Diet members, while prefectural chapters were covered by reporters, and the results were analyzed Wednesday. Persons eligible to vote in the DPJ presidential election scheduled for Tuesday are party Diet members, local assembly members, rank-and-file party members and registered DPJ supporters.

Of DPJ Diet members, Kan has clear support from 168, while Ozawa has firm backing from 171. From local assembly members, DPJ members and supporters, Kan will likely receive 60 percent to 70 percent of their votes. The 72 remaining undecided Diet members are seen as the key to the election.

The general picture with the campaign just halfway over is that Ozawa is aggressively on Kan's tail. The situation, however, remains fluid. Ballots from local assemblies members, party members and supporters are sent through the mail, and the deadline for these votes is Saturday.

Of the DPJ's 305 House of Representative members and 106 House of Councillors members, 262, or 64 percent, responded to the questionnaire. Of the respondents, 202 were lower house members. With the addition of information from research by reporters, it was found that Kan has the backing of 127 lower house members and 41 upper house members. Ozawa has consolidated support from 127 lower house members and 44 upper house members, making the race neck and neck.

Support for Ozawa is especially strong among first-term Diet members.

In the questionnaire, Diet members were asked to state why they support Kan or Ozawa. Respondents were allowed to select more than one reason.

Among Kan's supporters, "the prime minister should not be changed so quickly" was the top reason chosen by 75 percent of respondents. It was followed by "approval of his positive attitude toward tax and fiscal reform" at 50 percent and "his reliable character" at 37 percent.

Ninety-five percent of Ozawa backers said their support was because of the former party secretary general's "leadership ability," followed by "approval of his economic policies" at 65 percent.

Support from local assembly members, rank-and-file members and party supporters did not appear to have changed significantly from the start of the campaign.

Votes are converted into points in the DPJ presidential race, with a total 1,222 available. As one Diet member vote equals two points, the votes of the 411 DPJ lawmakers make up 822 points, about two-thirds of the total. Because of this, both sides are aggressively seeking support from Diet members who have not made their positions clear.