Nakasone Picks Takeshita to Be His Successor

Noboru Takeshita, leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party’s largest faction, will succeed Yasuhiro Nakasone as party president and thus as Japan’s prime minister, party officials announced today.

They said Nakasone, who is stepping down as party leader on Oct. 30 after five years in office, chose Takeshita after the three contenders--Takeshita, Shintaro Abe and Kiichi Miyazawa--were unable to decide among themselves whom to pick.

Takeshita, 63, a former finance minister who now serves as Liberal Democratic Party secretary general, is to serve as party leader and prime minister for the next two years following his confirmation at a convention scheduled for Oct. 31.

The Diet, or parliament, is to meet in an extraordinary session, expected on Nov. 6, to elect him prime minister. He is assured the post because of the Liberal Democratic Party’s large majority in Parliament.

Liberal Democratic Party Deputy Secretary General Sosuke Uno, announcing the choice of Takeshita, said Nakasone had asked Takeshita to name Abe, party executive council chairman and a former foreign minister, and Miyazawa, the finance minister, to the key posts of party secretary general and deputy prime minister in his future Cabinet.

The arrangement, worked out after extended talks among the three contenders and other party leaders, avoided a vote among party members of Diet on a new party leader.

Takeshita was viewed as the leading candidate for most of the last few weeks, although support for him had appeared to be waning.

In a statement read by one of his aides, Nakasone said it was important to maintain party unity to deal with difficult internal and external problems including an overseas trade imbalance and restructuring the economy.

“Takeshita has shown himself to be the man most capable of manipulating the political machine,” said one political analyst.