Kan Leadership Fight With Ozawa May Hurt Japan Stimulus Effort
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Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan faces a fight to lead the ruling party from his most powerful rival, hampering the two-month-old administration’s efforts to combat deflation and a surging currency.
Ichiro Ozawa, whose campaign funding scandals cost him the top two posts in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, yesterday said he will run against Kan on Sept. 14. Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who resigned in June to make way for Kan, said he will back Ozawa. The DPJ’s majority in the lower house of parliament ensures that its leader becomes prime minister.