NEW LDP EXECUTIVE LINEUP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 004468

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON JA
SUBJECT: NEW LDP EXECUTIVE LINEUP


Classified By: AMBASSADOR J. THOMAS SCHIEFFER, REASONS 1.4(B),(D).

Summary
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1. (C) Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda selected four senior
faction leaders on September 23 to assist him in unifying the
ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),countering the
opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and preparing for
the next Lower House election. The appointments are
generally seen as an effort to extend Fukuda's support base
within the party, particularly among the smaller and
medium-sized factions headed by the four new party
executives. At the same time, the new LDP lineup brings
tremendous political savvy to the party, as they face a
divisive Diet session and the possibility of elections as
early as next spring. While the traditional LDP "sanyaku"
consists of the Secretary General and the Chairs of the
Policy Affairs Research Council and General Affairs Council,
Fukuda has chosen to elevate the former post of Director
General of the Election Strategy Bureau to the same level,
upgrading the title to Chair of the Election Strategy
Committee and removing it from the direct supervision of the
Secretary General, a move which will likely take some of the

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cachet out of the Secretary General position. The new LDP
lineup has been criticized in the press and by the opposition
as top-heavy and reflective of a return to the factional
politics of the "old" LDP, but Embassy contacts and many in
the press have also praised Fukuda's party appointments as
substantive and capable.

Secretary General Ibuki Well-Liked and Respected

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2. (C) Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General --
Bunmei IBUKI, 68, is a seven-term member of the Lower House,
representing Kyoto 1 district. He was first elected in 1983.
Ibuki's selection to the number two post in the LDP (after
party president Fukuda) came as something of a surprise,
despite the fact that he is a party heavyweight in his own
right. Party insiders consider him highly capable, and he is
seen as someone who can help unify the party and take on the
main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the Diet
and at the polls. He is well-liked by colleagues, both for
his humble attitude and for taking good care of the people
around him. Ibuki heads his own medium-sized faction in the
LDP, with 19 members in the Lower House and six in the Upper
House. He came out early in support of Fukuda's candidacy,
but does not appear to have been able to deliver his entire
faction for Fukuda in the September 23 LDP presidential vote.
Ibuki was also a strong supporter of Abe, although his
faction was somewhat marginalized during the Abe
administration.


3. (C) Ibuki was named Minister of Education, Culture,
Sports, and Technology in the first Abe Cabinet in September
2006, and he kept his position in the August 27, 2007,
reshuffle, despite recurrent allegations of campaign finance
skeletons in his closet. He has had little contact with U.S.
officials in that job, aside from a courtesy call with
visiting Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in
November 2006. Early in his tenure, he was instrumental in
helping to gain passage of a revised Basic Education Law, one
of then-Prime Minister Abe's top priorities. He subsequently
fought successfully to defend his turf at the Education
Ministry against what he regarded as overreaching by the
Educational Revitalization Council, a special panel appointed
by Abe to help realize his vision of restoring traditional
values to Japan's education system. Ibuki survived media
attacks over an old campaign finance scandal leveled shortly
after his appointment and has managed to stay out of the
media crosshairs ever since. Formerly a bureaucrat at the
Finance Ministry's Budget and International Finance bureaus,
Ibuki served as secretary to the late former Finance Minister
Michio Watanabe before entering national politics. He served
as Labor Minister under the late Prime Minister Ryutaro

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Hashimoto, and Chair of the National Public Safety Commission
under Prime Minister Mori.


4. (C) Ibuki was born into a traditional textile wholesaler
family in Kyoto, and is a graduate of Kyoto University.
Ibuki speaks fluent English, having served at the Japanese
Embassy in London for four years in the 1960s. He is
married, with one son and one daughter. He is an avid tennis
player, but also enjoys more traditional Japanese pursuits,
such as playing "Go" and watching "Rakugo," a form of comic
storytelling. He also enjoys cooking and wine. Ibuki has
authored several books on Japanese politics.

Policy Wonk Tanigaki Regains Clout
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5. (C) LDP Policy Affairs Research Council (PARC) Chair --
Sadakazu TANIGAKI, 62, is a nine-term Lower House member
representing Kyoto 5 district. He was first elected in 1987.
Tanigaki's appointment to the PARC represents a real
political comeback for his small faction of 15 members -- 12
in the Lower House and three in the Upper House. A
third-place finisher in the LDP Presidential campaign in
2006, Tanigaki was largely ostracized by the LDP mainstream
for his vocal criticism of the Abe administration, and became
known as something of a magnet for "anti-Abe" forces within
the party. Along with faction leaders Bunmei Ibuki and
Makoto Koga, however, he was quick to jump on the Fukuda
bandwagon this time. His name came up often during the brief
campaign as someone who shares Fukuda's views on China and
other foreign policy questions.


6. (C) A former Finance Minister under Prime Minister
Koizumi, Tanigaki is regarded as an economic policy expert.
Tanigaki previously served as Minister for Industrial
Revitalization and Chair of the National Public Safety
Commission. In his 2006 run for LDP President, he called for
doubling the consumption tax to ten percent over the next few
years as a means of rebuilding Japan's finances. Fiscally
conservative, he was nevertheless an early booster within the
LDP on addressing regional economic disparities. Some
critics have already criticized his appointment as a shift
away from pro-growth, market-oriented reforms.


7. (C) Tanigaki was born in Tokyo and graduated from the
University of Tokyo. He practiced law before entering
politics. A second generation politician, he inherited the
Kyoto 5 district from his father, former Education Minister
Senichi Tanigaki. He enjoys physical pursuits, such as
cycling and mountain climbing. He shares an interest in wine
with the new Prime Minister and Secretary General. He speaks
no English.

Nikai Retains General Council Chair
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8. (C) LDP General Affairs Council (GAC) Chair -- Toshihiro
NIKAI, 68, is an eight-term member of the Lower House,
representing Wakayama 3 district. He was first elected in

1983. Nikai was appointed GAC Chair when former Prime
Minister Abe reshuffled the Cabinet and LDP leadership on
August 27, 2007. His reappointment by Prime Minister Fukuda
was not unexpected. Regarded as a deft behind-the-scenes
political negotiator, with well-developed connections to both
ruling and coalition parties, he was originally brought in to
help unite the party after its crushing defeat in the July
Upper House election. Prior to taking the GAC post, Nikai
led his own small faction of 15 members (13 in the Lower
House and two in the Upper House),but his influence within
the party was generally regarded as much greater than these
numbers would otherwise indicate. An early and ardent
supporter of Fukuda's campaign to succeed Abe, he is believed
to have delivered most of his faction members to the winning
camp. Nikai is also close to Fukuda in his views on China.
He travels frequently to China and enjoys close relations
with many Chinese leaders.

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9. (C) Nikai previously served as LDP Diet Affairs Committee
Chairman, where he was seen as a formidable force in pushing
through key items in Abe's legislative agenda, such as the
upgrade of the Japan Defense Agency to ministry status, the
establishment of a National Referendum process for amending
the Constitution, and revisions to the Basic Education,
Public Funds Control, and National Public Servants
("Anti-Amakudari") laws. In the Diet, Nikai has specialized
in land, infrastructure, transportation, and tourism
promotion, having served as Minister of Transportation under
Prime Ministers Obuchi and Mori, and as Minister of Economy,
Trade, and Industry under Prime Minister Koizumi. He is said
to have been one of the key players in orchestrating the
LDP's landslide victory in the "postal privatization"
election of 2005.


10. (C) A consummate LDP insider, Nikai actually left the LDP
in 1993 to form the Shin-Shin Party with current opposition
DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa. Nikai, together with Ozawa, then
joined the New Frontier Party, headed by former Prime
Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. After the collapse of the
Hosokawa Cabinet, Nikai then joined Ozawa's Liberal Party
(LP). With the break-up of the LDP-LP-Komeito coalition in
2000, Nikai, then Ozawa's right-hand man, and 12 other LP
members formed the Conservative Party in 2000, which was
expanded and renamed the New Conservative Party (NCP) in

2002. He returned to the LDP in 2003. His prior experience
as a close aide to Ozawa is regarded as a real asset within
the LDP as it gears up to take on the DPJ in this Diet
session.


11. (C) Nikai is a graduate of Chuo University, who got his
start in politics as secretary to then-Construction Minister
Saburo Endo. He was later elected to the Wakayama
prefectural assembly for two terms, before winning his first
Diet seat. Nikai is married with children. He does not
speak English.

Koga Gets Elevated Election Bureau Post
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12. (C) LDP Election Strategy Committee Chair -- Makoto KOGA,
67, is a nine-term Lower House member representing Fukuoka 7
district. He was first elected in 1980. Koga is widely
credited as giving Prime Minister Fukuda the initial momentum
he needed to launch his winning campaign for LDP President,
and was widely expected to draw a Cabinet or top LDP post.
He is believed to be close to Fukuda ideologically, and
shares his stance on China. More noteworthy is that he was
apparently able to use his influence to secure the elevation
of his new job. The election portfolio is expected to gain
significance in coming months, as the opposition tries to use
its new-found strength in the Upper House to try to force
dissolution of the Lower House and early elections. As such,
Koga and his new post -- which used to be under the control
of the party Secretary General but now answers directly to
the party president -- will probably gain at the expense of
Ibuki and the Secretary General post. Koga leads the
third-largest LDP faction, with 38 members in the Lower House
and eight in the Upper House. He has previously served as
Secretary General and Diet Affairs Chair of the party. He

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also served as Transportation Minister, and is a member of
the "construction tribe" within the LDP.


13. (C) Koga graduated from Nihon University. When he was
still a child, his father, a soldier, was killed in the
Philippines. Koga holds tremendous influence over veterans
groups -- a major support organization for the LDP -- as the
head of the Japan War-Bereaved Association. During debates
over visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine by former
Prime Minister Koizumi, Koga came down on the side of
separating the 14 Class-A war criminals from the others
enshrined there.
Schieffer