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Japan's new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, front row center, leads his Cabinet members for a customary group photo session on a red carpet at the entrance hall of the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo Wednesday./AP
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The new Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda launched a new Cabinet on Wednesday. Fukuda (71), who has long advocated greater diplomatic focus on Asia, was elected president of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday and Japan¡¯s 91st prime minister on Tuesday. He officially launched his Cabinet after receiving confirmation from the emperor on Wednesday morning.
Succeeding his father and former prime minister Takeo Fukuda's policy focus on Asia, Fukuda opposes visits by Japanese prime ministers to the militarist Yasukuni Shrine that have angered his country¡¯s neighbors, and emphasizes dialogue in Tokyo's relations with Pyongyang. In that, he differs markedly from his two predecessors Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe. It is the first time in the history of Japanese politics that a father and son have become prime ministers.
The launch of the Fukuda administration has improved prospects for better Seoul-Tokyo relations. During his election campaign for the LDP leadership, Fukuda touched on visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which houses memorials to executed war criminals. "We don't need to do something that other nations dislike, do we?" he asked rhetorically, hinting that one of the main obstacles to better relations with Seoul and Beijing could be removed.
Fukuda is also expected to take a different approach to North Korea. When he was chief cabinet secretary in 2002, he was in charge of behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to a meeting between Koizumi and Kim Jong-il to issue the Pyongyang Declaration.
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A woman walks past a large television screen showing stock price index and news regarding Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda members in Tokyo on Wednesday./Reuters
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During his latest election campaign, he said, "We need to find out how we can convey to North Korea our intention and desire to negotiate¡± ? significantly omitting to mention the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s as a precondition for talks. A breakthrough in the stalemate with North Korea would probably also have a positive effect on Japan¡¯s relations with South Korea.
Fukuda, experts say, has attached importance to relations in Northeast Asia instead of Koizumi's and Abe's diplomatic focus on the U.S., meaning the prospects for better Seoul-Tokyo ties look bright. Prof. Kim Sung-han of Korea University said Fukuda, unlike his predecessors, ¡°advocates a policy of seeking good neighborly relations with South Korea and China."
But the Fukuda administration has several weaknesses that may impede progress. He has no strong voice of his own, having been elected in the wake of a compromise between several factions within his party. His Cabinet is expected to be short-lived considering the likely dissolution of the Japanese lower house and the early general election during the first half of next year. It will also be hard for him to free himself from strong public opinion in Japan about the abductions by North Korea.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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