Campaigning ends in Japanese PM race

Five lawmakers from Japan's ruling party wrapped up a short weekend of campaigning on Sunday ahead of a vote to choose the nation's sixth new premier in five years and replace Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The contest comes as Japan battles to rebuild after the devastating March 11 quake, tsunami and nuclear disasters and two years after the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ousted the long-ruling conservative party in a landslide.

Kan announced his resignation Friday after less than 15 turbulent months in office during which his leadership style, his response to the quake and tsunami and his outspoken anti-nuclear stance earned him critics and enemies.

Trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda has emerged as favourite to win Monday's party leadership vote, followed by former foreign minister Seiji Maehara and Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, local media said.

But chances of a runoff are high, with no candidate appearing to have enough support to secure a majority in the first ballot, reports said. The winner is expected to be confirmed as prime minister by parliament on Tuesday.

Whoever wins faces the daunting task of rebuilding the disaster zone and ending the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant while reviving a stagnant economy and reducing huge public debt.

He must also manage tricky relations with China, the traditional rival that last year overtook Japan as Asia's biggest economy, with bitter territorial disputes simmering.

The new leader will also face the same problems that have hobbled his two short-lived DPJ predecessors, deep rifts within the ruling camp and a hostile opposition that controls the upper house of parliament.

The five candidates sparred on television on Sunday morning ahead of their final joint debate later in the day.

Kaieda, 62, has leapt to the head of the race since winning the support of controversial party kingmaker Ichiro Ozawa, who controls the biggest faction among the 398 DPJ lawmakers in Monday's vote.

Ozawa, who has been dubbed the "Shadow Shogun" and faces criminal charges over a donations scandal, commands the support of some 130 lawmakers, despite the fact that he lost his party membership following his indictment.

Maehara, topping the list of hopefuls in public opinion polls, identified Japan's economic woes as one of hi priorities.

"Japan does not have time to waste as it suffers huge debts, deflation and a strong yen," he said as he made an appeal to supporters on Sunday.

The 49-year-old has taken a hard line on China, last year infuriating Beijing by labelling its stance in an island dispute as "hysterical".

Maehara resigned five months ago for taking political donations from a family friend who is an ethnic Korean, in contravention of funding laws, a fact the opposition is likely to seize upon again.

Another candidate is Noda, 54, who has led Japan's mixed efforts to bring down the yen, a safe haven currency that has soared to post-war highs amid global market turmoil, hurting Japan's exporters.

Noda, seen as a safe pair of hands, has managed to upset Japan's neighbours, including South Korea, with comments defending Japanese war criminals.

Like previous internal DPJ contests, the ballot outcome is likely to be determined as much by factional deal-making as by the candidates' popular appeal and policy positions.

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