FACTBOX: Profiles of possible candidates for Japan PM

(Reuters) - Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, struggling after a bashing at the polls, said on Wednesday that he would resign.

Following are profiles of some possible successors from within the main house of Japan's parliament, the lower house.

TARO ASO

Now the No. 2 in Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Aso, 66, has served in key cabinet jobs including foreign minister and economic planning minister.

Like Abe, he comes from a venerable political family. His grandfather, then-Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, negotiated the peace treaty ending World War Two.

In 2006, Aso came second to Abe in the race for leadership of the LDP.

He appeals to fellow fans of "manga" comics, but has stirred controversy with verbal blunders. A security hawk, Aso is a strong supporter of maintaining a tradition to allow only males to become emperor. For more details on Aso see

SADAKAZU TANIGAKI

Tanigaki, 62, served as finance minister under Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, and is well versed in economic policy.

The lower house lawmaker is seen as a relative dove on foreign policy.

A graduate of the elite University of Tokyo and a former lawyer, Tanigaki has said Japan will need to raise its 5 percent consumption tax to fix its huge public debt.

The son of a former education minister, Tanigaki is an avid cyclist. He once joked that he wore "tin underpants" -- a reference to his serious and stiff demeanor.

YASUO FUKUDA

Fukuda, 71, was favored by Abe's critics to succeed Koizumi last year, but the lower house lawmaker dropped out of the race and never formally threw his hat in the ring.

During his tenure as chief cabinet secretary, a post he held for more than three years, Fukuda was dubbed the "shadow foreign minister". He has long stressed the need for good relations with Asian neighbors China and South Korea.

Known for having a short temper, Fukuda comes from a political family. His father, Takeo Fukuda, was prime minister.

NOBUTAKA MACHIMURA

Japan's foreign minister, Machimura, 62, has been education minister several times and like Abe is a proponent of education reform to revive patriotism.

Machimura also shares Abe's goal of a bigger say for Japan in global affairs. Last year he headed a ruling party team that called for stronger national intelligence-gathering capabilities.

He is a member of a group of conservative Japanese lawmakers who in June urged China to remove photographs and exhibits from museums that they say distort the truth about Tokyo's actions before and during World War Two.

JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI

Speculation refuses to die that Koizumi, 65, who served as prime minister for five years, could be called back to take over the leadership.

He topped a newspaper poll last month as the voters' choice to succeed Abe and still serves in parliament.

A popular maverick who was rarely out of the media eye while in office, Koizumi vowed to carry out reforms and shake up the ruling party. In 2005, he led the LDP to a landslide victory in a lower house election.

But Koizumi himself said last year just before leaving office that he would enjoy his freedom. When asked if he was sorry to leave his official residence, he was quoted as saying "No, no, I will be free."