Koike emerges as contender for prime minister

It'd be cool to see a female PM but I just can't see it happening in this country. She probably hasn't spent enough time doing the obligatory golfing, drinking, and whoring around that the men here do.

She'd be much better than Aso.

hosterfella agreed with your first comment..or may be this is just "Tatemae" to show ASO has some competition and democracy is still alive and kicking in Japan..

“I’m contacting various people since you can’t play a baseball game all by yourself.”

I am all for her getting exercise especially at her age but what about the job?

"“The front-runner is Aso. That’s for sure. For the LDP, Koike is a gamble,” said Hidekazu Kawai, honorary professor of politics at Gakushuin University in Tokyo."

Really, shouldn't that be "professor emeritus"? If you call him an "honorary professor", it sounds as if he isn't a real professor.

Comic books and pop culture are going to save Japan! No kidding, you say. But a segment of the population votes for images only, and then drop their support in no time at all. At least Koike is getting some attention. A lot of women have become very successful in enterprise and the time has come for them to advance in politics as well, if only the for ever quarreling boys in the backrooms of politics will recognize their talents.

I would love to see Koike get the nod and go ahead for PM, but I just see it; I mean, we're talking about a country that can't even debate the POSSIBILITY of a female becoming emperor. What's more, it already seems as though Aso has won it. The latter is VERY unfortunate for Japan, but the way it's been headed for the past few years... well... Aso would only keep driving in the same direction.

Aso would be to Japan what George W. Bush was to America. Before 9/11, that is. Yuriko Koike definitely has more brains, but it aint gonna happen. Now, if only the American TV anchors will be able to pronounce the name correctly without getting phone calls from concerned parents.

So many people on this thread have no understanding of Japanese politics.

Fukuda's resignation and this internal LDP election is not about who will control the LDP, Aso will do that from behind the curtain, it's about which candidate will give the LDP the best chance in the national election for the lower house, in the general election that will follow very quickly after Sept 22.

Koike has a very good chance of winning and cue the national election and out pops Koizumi, who was always a fraud because he talked a good game but nothing else, to speak up for one of his disciples and the LDP will be back in its dominant position for the next 4 years.

The only gamble in this whole process will be whether the LDP might call elections for both houses, rather than just the lower house.

Watch and see.

By the way this woman is an extreme nationalist in the Ishihara mold, Aso is just an idiot.

A former television anchorwoman, you got to be kidding.

for a moment i thought this could be the wind of change this country needs.......then i woke up out of my fantasy dream

Up Yuriko!! She will win!! Best thing ever for Japan. Aso has no chance now. This woman is real power.

The men can't do it. Let the woman try. Can't be any worse. Probably be better! She is good!

I don't know much about her, but she'd sure have to be better than Aso.

9 out of 10 women I asked about Yuriko today said they cant stand her and don't want a female PM.

I don't understand all this support for Koike on this board. Why should anyone support her just because she's a woman? Shouldn't you support someone based on his/her abilities (yes, I know there aren't many alternatives). Didn't someone say she was one of those revisionists who deny that sex slaves were forced into prostitution (in public of course, because secretly they damn well know the truth)? Isn't she always one of those eager politicians to go to Yasukuni in mid-August? In my book, she's no different to Aso and Ishihara, only with a prettier face. Don't let appearances fool you.

During Thatcher's reign of terror, women were asked why they voted for her. Many said they did so because they wanted a woman in power...and later regretted the decision. By all means vote for a woman, but only if you think she can do a good job.

Now, if only the American TV anchors will be able to pronounce the name (Aso) correctly without getting phone calls from concerned parents.

Ha ha ha. Can't wait.

Hopefully, whoever takes the PM role will be better than the last 2.

"After two political misfires in such a short time, Japan looks increasingly incapable of producing strong leadership despite facing a host of pressing issues, from the rise of neighboring China to crucial upcoming domestic elections."

-NY Times, Sept 2, 2008

9 out of 10 women I asked about Yuriko today said they cant stand her and don't want a female PM.

Try it again with Eiko Koike.

fluent in both English and Arabic

Yuriko Koike. Good enough for me. Going from English to Japanese is tough enough, I can't imagine how tough it is to go from Japanese to Arabic. A trilingual female PM sounds OK to me.

Koike would be a great choice if for no other reason than a female PM would be a sea change for Japan and the LDP

Aso or Koike, either way Jpn loses, both have major faults, a lot of posters on this thread look like yr typical tanaka, ie shouganai we have to pick one of these..........

Koike would be a good choice. She was a good choice as Defense Minister and she wuld be good as a PM if Japan wants to move towards "normalizing" their military, which is long overdue.

I don`t see any quality in her as a Prime minister but great to see a Japanese prime minister with Fluent in English and Arabic.

Well, given that the PM in Japan does nothing, and Koike has basically done nothing either in the Environment or Defense portfolios, I'd say she's eminently qualified for the job.

I think she's going to get the nod - Koizumi is probably gunning for her behind the scenes.

Try it again with Eiko Koike.

hahaha, sadly the women I asked were mostly about the same age as Yuriko Koike, and the women Eiko Koike's age dont give a monkeys about voting.

I'd like to see her win. Afterall a dead cat would be superior to Aso.

I have actually met her. She has a real presence about her. Strong character and power. Good luck Yuriko.

She should go for it.

I hope she gets it as just having foreign languages shows more cultural sensitivity than her counterpart Aso. These old farts just are in it for the paycheck and prestige of having had the title. I think she's a lot more suitable but will face the challenge of the old farts trying to oust her and that is when we will see if she has the staying power Koizumi had despite all the extremist calling for his ousting just over a temple visit. Go for it Koike sama.

The tried and true LDP tactic: When you're up shlitz creek without a paddle, trot out the women.

Just a thought..... if Sec-Gen of the LDP Aso becomes PM, former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike would be a top choice as the PM's primary spokesperson. It would give Sec-Gen Aso some style and finesse in addressing the public and the media (foreign and domestic). Also, she would be relevant in sitting in on foreign policy discussions. However, the spokesperson is usually the Chief of Staff who has a different background. The present format is different.

"Well, given that the PM in Japan does nothing, and Koike has basically done nothing either in the Environment or Defense portfolios, I'd say she's eminently qualified for the job."

That's a good reason to suppport the one that's most pleasant to look at.

she has a reputation as an indecisive/opportunistic quitter, has been a member of 5 different political parties in her 15 year political 'career'. like the photo though, kind of feminine guts pose, she's obviously deep in thought about how she's going to end corruption and care for the elderly

Correction:

"However, the spokesperson is usually the CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY who has a different background."

I kinda liked what she did as defense minister, started a big cleanup (for once before the scandals happened), but some of the guys she tried to fire had some major backup in the LDP, so in the end she got fired instead. 6 month later those same guys got hit in the defense procurement scandal, so she got the last laugh.

However she's know to be a pretty hardline conservative, so I wish there was a more moderate alternative to her and Aso.