Image trumps policy in Japan PM race, polls show
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Japan's Shinzo Abe, who appears virtually   certain to become the nation's next prime minister, is   supported by a majority of ordinary Japanese in a campaign   where image is trumping policy, opinion polls show.
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Japan's democracy may work smoothly, but its politics are still dominated by change-resistant dynasties that limit voter choice
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A hefty majority of Japanese voters   support the country's new prime minister-to-be, Shinzo Abe, two   media surveys published on Friday showed, but many also have   doubts about his leadership capabilities.
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Campaigning began on Thursday for a Japanese upper house election on July 29 that could cost Prime Minister Shinzo Abe his job and usher in a period of policy stagnation if his bloc loses big.
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Support for Japan's embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tumbled to a new low of 25.7 percent in a poll published on Friday, just over two weeks ahead of a crucial upper house election.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today is choosing cabinet ministers and party leaders who support the sale of Japan Post, the world&#39;s largest savings bank, as he seeks to quell opposition from within his party.
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Japan's ruling party scrambled on Thursday to find a new leader and avoid a policy vacuum after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's shock resignation the previous day, just as parliamentary debate was set to begin.
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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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Support for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his cabinet slid sharply to 37 percent in a poll taken after his decision to extend the mandate of Japanese troops serving in Iraq, a national daily said on Sunday.
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Japan's new prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, won nearly 60 percent support in the first public opinion poll published since the seasoned moderate took office, double that of his predecessor.
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Support for Japanese Prime Minister  Junichiro Koizumi and his cabinet slid sharply to 37 percent in  a poll taken after his decision to extend the mandate of  Japanese troops serving in Iraq, a national daily said on  Sunday.
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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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Japan's Shinzo Abe pledged on Friday to  be bold in diplomacy and press on with economic reform as he  formally launched his campaign to become the next prime  minister -- a contest he appears to have won hands down  already.
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Japan&#39;s finance minister became the first  to launch a bid to lead the country on Thursday as the ruling  party scrambled to avoid a policy vacuum after Prime Minister  Shinzo Abe&#39;s shock resignation.
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Campaigning began on Thursday for a  Japanese upper house election on July 29 that could cost Prime  Minister Shinzo Abe his job and usher in a period of policy  stagnation if his bloc loses big.
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Japan's finance minister became the first to launch a bid to lead the country on Thursday as the ruling party scrambled to avoid a policy vacuum after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's shock resignation.
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Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe,   pledged on Tuesday to boost the country's role in global   affairs and revive respect for traditional values at home.