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Ruling bloc on guard for 'formidable' new opposition leader Ozawa+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, April 7_(Kyodo) _ The ruling bloc was on guard Friday for a possible counterattack by Ichiro Ozawa, a former ruling party heavyweight who was elected new leader of the embattled main opposition Democratic Party of Japan. Toranosuke Katayama, secretary general of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party's caucus of the House of Councillors, labeled Ozawa a "formidable" rival in next year's upper house election as he is well-versed in the LDP's strategies as a former LDP secretary general. Katayama expects Ozawa to take a more aggressive stance against the LDP-led ruling bloc in parliamentary debates than Seiji Maehara, Ozawa's predecessor who stepped down following a failed attempt to discredit the LDP based on an unsubstantiated e-mail message. Fumio Kyuma, who heads the LDP's General Council, said, "The DPJ (under Ozawa) may develop into a party which can take a strong stand against the LDP and present policies in a confident manner." LDP Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe said, "We're ready to compete with the DPJ for (further) reforms" in Japan. Takenori Kanzaki, who heads the New Komeito party, the junior coalition partner of the LDP, also said, "Mr. Ozawa has strong leadership...The ruling coalition must be vigilant in dealing with national politics." Meanwhile, Tadayoshi Ichida who heads the secretariat of the small opposition Japanese Communist Party said he hoped Ozawa will change the DPJ into a party which can "challenge" the LDP-led politics, because Maehara's DPJ was "on the same track" with the ruling coalition in dealing with fundamental political issues. Ozawa, who served as home affairs minister and LDP secretary general in the 1980s and 1990s, was elected leader of the DPJ, easily defeating former DPJ President Naoto Kan in Friday's party presidential race. |