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TOKYO, Sep 3 (Reuters) Hawkish former foreign minister Taro Aso has the backing of half of the ruling party's branches to become Japan's next prime minister after Yasuo Fukuda's abrupt resignation, a media survey showed today.
The party branches, along with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's lawmakers, will vote for a new party leader on September 22 after the unpopular Fukuda quit, leaving a policy vacuum in the world's No 2 economy as it teeters on the edge of a recession.
Aso, currently the LDP's No.2, has yet to formally announce his candidacy but the comic book fan and former Olympic sharpshooter has said he is a suitable candidate to carry on Fukuda's policies.
Of 47 party chapters, 23 said they would back Aso, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said, with supporters seeing the 67-year-old as the best candidate to lead the party to victory in an election that must be held by September 2009. Most other branches were undecided.
An advocate of increased government spending to prop up the economy, Aso was also backed by a pivotal figure in the LDP's junior coalition partner, the New Komeito party, yesterday.
''He's outgoing, clear and good,'' said Toshiko Hamayotsu, whose party is vital for the coalition to keep its two-thirds majority in parliament's powerful lower house.
Analysts say the next prime minister might call an election early to make the most of any boost in public ratings, which sank to low levels under Fukuda.
The new leader may also call an election to seek a mandate from voters to try to end a deadlock in parliament, where the opposition control the upper house and can stall legislation.
Despite Aso's popularity with voters, some in the LDP are concerned that Aso's calls for increased government spending will turn back the clock on Japan's efforts to cut its huge public debt of around 1-{ times GDP, the highest among major industrialised countries.
That, and worries over Aso's hawkish foreign policies, have fuelled speculation that other candidates will run to try to stall what would be his fourth bid for the leadership.
A potential contender is Yuriko Koike, who was briefly last year the country's first female defence minister and is backed by a former LDP secretary-general who favours fiscal reforms.
The new LDP chief is assured the Japanese premiership by virtue of the party's grip on parliament, which is expected to convene shortly after the LDP presidential race to elect a successor to Fukuda.
Analysts said whoever wins would face the same headaches as Fukuda, with policy-making blocked by the divided parliament.
A survey of 80 corporate leaders by the Nikkei business daily showed 70 percent said Fukuda's resignation would have a negative effect on the economic outlook and policies.
Nearly 60 per cent in the same survey said an early election should be called by the start of next year.
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