Japan's Fukuda ahead in PM race, Aso vows to fight
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The race to succeed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shaped up on Friday as a fight between 71-year-old lawmaker Yasuo Fukuda, an advocate of warm ties with Asian neighbors, and hawkish former foreign minister Taro Aso.
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Shinzo Abe, an advocate of a more   muscular Japanese foreign policy and restoring traditional   values, is poised to win a party leadership contest on   Wednesday, setting the stage for his election as prime minister   next week.
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Yasuo Fukuda, the front-runner to be Japan&#39;s next prime minister, pledged Sunday to strengthen ties with China and said he would not visit a war shrine seen as a symbol of Tokyo&#39;s wartime past.
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HIROSHIMA, Japan  - Shinzo Abe announced his   candidacy on Friday to be Japan's next prime minister, a post   he looks certain to win, and said he wanted his country to   forge a stronger role on the world stage and improve ties with   Asia.
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Momentum was building in Japan's ruling party on Friday to tap 71-year-old lawmaker Yasuo Fukuda, known for his pro-Asian diplomacy, as successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after his shock resignation, media and analysts said.
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Japan has vowed to pursue its campaign for reform of the UN Security Council from which it hopes to secure a permanent seat on the key body despite opposition from some of its neighbours.
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Japan's ruling party was poised on Sunday to pick Yasuo Fukuda, who seeks warmer ties with Asian neighbours, to succeed Shinzo Abe as prime minister in an effort to revive party fortunes and fill a political vacuum.
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Yasuo Fukuda, a dovish lawmaker who has vowed to heal his party and improve ties with Japan&#39;s neighbours, took over as prime minister Tuesday braced for a bruising fight in a divided parliament.
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Front-runner Shinzo Abe has opened his bid to become Japan's next prime minister with calls for a more assertive nation but also better relations with Asian neighbors.
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Japan&#39;s ruling party on Sunday chose moderate political veteran Yasuo Fukuda as the country&#39;s next prime minister, seeking safe hands after a disastrous year under conservative Shinzo Abe.
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Shinzo Abe pledges to carry on as Japan's PM, after staking his job on extending Japan's Afghanistan mission.
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Shinzo Abe, the front-runner to become Japan's new prime minister, called Friday for his country to build a stronger military as a deterrent and to push ahead with economic reforms as candidates launched their campaigns to lead the governing party.
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Japanese PM Shinzo Abe admits his coalition faces a difficult battle to win the upper house elections.
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Faced with a new hostage-taking in Iraq, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appears determined not to break the coalition a week before the US election in which he openly supports George W. Bush, analysts said.
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The low-key Yasuo Fukuda has promised to bring stability to Japan's tumultuous politics.
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Japan's ruling party on Sunday picked Yasuo Fukuda, who seeks warmer ties with Asian neighbors, to succeed Shinzo Abe as prime minister in an effort to revive the party's fortunes and fill a political vacuum.
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Japan's ex-foreign minister Taro Aso says his rival Yasuo Fukuda is most likely to win the contest to become PM.