Japan's Fukuda emerges as frontrunner for PM

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese lawmaker Yasuo Fukuda, who emerged on Friday as a new frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as ruling party leader, and hence premier, is known for his pro-Asian diplomatic stance -- and a short temper.

If he wins the nation's top job, the 71-year old lawmaker would be following in the footsteps of his late father, Takeo Fukuda, who served as prime minister from 1976-1978.

Fukuda became chief cabinet secretary under former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in 2000 and kept the post under Mori's successor, the charismatic Junichiro Koizumi.

While serving as government spokesman, Fukuda was dubbed "shadow foreign minister" and engaged in a highly public feud with outspoken lawmaker Makiko Tanaka when she was foreign minister. Tanaka was sacked by Koizumi in 2002.

Fukuda himself abruptly announced his resignation at a news conference in 2004, admitting he had skipped some payments into the public pension scheme. Some analysts, however, attributed his departure to growing friction with Koizumi and his close aides over foreign affairs policy.

Fukuda was favored by Abe's critics to succeed Koizumi last year, but he never formally declared his candidacy, partly because of Koizumi's outspoken support for Abe.

Little is known about Fukuda's stance on fiscal policy, but he has questioned the long-term benefits of boosting public works as a pump-priming measure.

"There is much debate over public works, but we want to avoid as much as possible measures that only temporarily lift the economy," he told reporters in 2002.

Fukuda carries on his father's legacy on foreign affairs, stressing the need for building good relations with Asian neighbors.

Koizumi angered China and South Korea by paying visits as prime minister to Yasukuni shrine, where war criminals of the World War II are enshrined.

Fukuda had criticized Koizumi's Asian diplomacy, and called for a new, secular memorial where Japan can honor its war dead without offending its neighbor countries.

After graduating from Waseda University in Tokyo with a degree in economics, Fukuda worked at a Japanese oil company for 17 years, during which he spent two years in the United States.

He was first elected to parliament in 1990 following his father's retirement. He is married with three children.

Voter support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faltered partly due to a series of gaffes made by his cabinet members. But Fukuda is no exception to the ranks of politicians who have stirred public feeling with verbal blunders.

While serving as chief cabinet secretary, Fukuda came under fire from journalists and female lawmakers when he told reporters in an off-the-record briefing that some women were asking to be raped by dressing provocatively.