Aso announces bid to lead Japan's ruling party

Taro Aso (L), secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), looks at outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as Fukuda bows during the LDP parliamentarian meeting at the party's headquarters in Tokyo September 3, 2008. Hawkish former foreign minister Aso has the backing of half of the ruling party's branches to become Japan's next prime minister after Fukuda's abrupt resignation, a media survey showed on Wednesday.(Photo Reuters)

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Taro Aso speaks at the ruling party's general meeting in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda resigned late Monday after less than a year in office as potential successors to Fukuda began rallying their forces ahead of the ruling party's vote to formally name his replacement. Aso has indicated a strong desire to run and has been cited by analysts as the current favorite. (AP Photo)

TOKYO - Japan's brash, right-leaning former foreign minister announced Friday that he would run for ruling party president in a move that would put him on track to take over as Japan's next prime minister.

Taro Aso, 67, is widely considered the front-runner to replace struggling Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who announced Monday that he would step down amid sagging poll numbers and troubles with the split parliament.

A former Olympic skeetshooter, Aso is focusing his campaign on Japan's troubled economy, which is suffering from stagnating growth, weak consumer spending and inflation.

"The recovery of the domestic economy and clearing the unease of the people, these are the things we have to address in the election," Aso told reporters Friday.

Aso's candidacy for the Sept. 22 vote in the Liberal Democratic Party was widely expected.

The LDP election is expected to be followed on Sept. 24 with a vote in parliament for prime minister. The party's hold on the powerful lower house all but guarantees that the LDP president will then be elected premier.

Three other candidates tipped to also run for LDP president are Yuriko Koike, a former defense minister and TV anchorwoman; Economic Minister Kaoru Yosano; and Nobuteru Ishihara, the son of Tokyo's governor.

The vote will take place amid political and economic uncertainty in Japan.

The opposition, which took over the upper house of parliament in elections last year, has been pushing noisily for snap lower house elections.

The Asahi, a major newspaper, said on Thursday that 56 percent of Japanese are in favor of dissolving parliament and holding general elections "as soon as possible," according to a telephone poll of 1,069 people.