June 20, 2013

Japan opposition pushes for hard line with China

BY: AP Staff Writer SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 | MODIFIED: SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 AT 4:16 AM
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Photo -   Japan's leading opposition Liberal Democratic Party presidential candidates, from left, Shinzou Abe, Shigeru Ishiba, Nobutaka Machimura, Nobuteru Ishihara and Yoshimasa Hayashi, hold their hands together prior to a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
Japan's leading opposition Liberal Democratic Party presidential candidates, from left, Shinzou Abe, Shigeru Ishiba, Nobutaka Machimura, Nobuteru Ishihara and Yoshimasa Hayashi, hold their hands together prior to a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

TOKYO (AP) — Five candidates vying to lead Japan's top opposition party, and possibly become the next prime minister, are calling for Japan to get tough with China in an escalating territorial dispute.

The candidates — including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and party secretary general Nobuteru Ishihara — slammed China in a debate Saturday ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, scheduled for Sept. 26.

They called for Japan to bolster its control of disputed East China Sea islands, saying they are Japan's inviolable sovereign territory. They also discussed Japan's sagging economy and its plan to phase out nuclear power.

Analysts believe the LDP could win big in upcoming parliamentary elections. If it does, whoever wins the party leadership race could become Japan's next prime minister.

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