Japan Internet CEO to run as de facto LDP candidate
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-08-19 16:40

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi tapped a maverick Internet CEO as a de facto candidate on Friday, the latest celebrity to run against party rebels in an election being cast as a referendum on reform, Reuters reported.

Takafumi Horie, founder of high-flying Internet portal Livedoor and a magnet for media coverage, said he would run as an independent against former ruling Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Shizuka Kamei, who has started his own party.

Maverick Japanese Internet CEO Takafumi Horie is guided past reporters after speaking at Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo August 19, 2005. The founder of high-flying Internet firm Livedoor Co will run as a de facto candidate for the LDP in next month's election in an attempt to topple an anti-reform rebel and woo undecided voters. [Reuters]

Horie, who said he would remain head of Livedoor, rejected LDP offers of official backing, but LDP Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe said the party would not run a candidate against him.

"I want to test my desire not to see reform halted," Horie, 32, told reporters at LDP headquarters after meeting Koizumi.

"This is the first time for me to stand, so I wanted to test myself as an independent," he added.

Koizumi called a September 11 general election after members of the LDP old guard helped to defeat bills to privatise the postal system, the pillar of his reform agenda.

Koizumi has said he wants to make the election a referendum on privatising Japan Post, a sprawling business empire with more than $3 trillion in assets, as well as on his broader reforms.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi answers a reporter's question at his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters in Tokyo August 19, 2005. Koizumi called a September 11 general election after members of the LDP old guard helped to defeat bills to privatise the postal system, the pillar of his reform agenda. Koizumi has said he wants to make the election a referendum on privatising Japan Post, a sprawling business empire with more than $3 trillion in assets, as well as on his broader reforms. [Reuters]

Shortly after Horie ended days of speculation about his candidacy, the LDP unveiled its platform, pledging to enact the postal privatisation bills in the next session of parliament.

The party also promised to shrink government by enacting regulatory reforms, opening up government enterprises to the private sector and reducing civil service personnel costs.

The opposition Democratic Party has also pledged to slim down the government and argues that only it can achieve real reform.

Nicknamed "Horie-mon" due to his resemblance to a roly-poly Japanese cartoon cat called Doraemon, Horie hit the headlines earlier this year when he began a fierce takeover battle for a unit of one of Japan's biggest media groups.

"NEW JAPAN"

The takeover struggle, which ended in a compromise, was cast as a clash between the stodgy business establishment and a maverick entrepreneur of a "New Japan" IT firm.

Many young Japanese backed Horie, but the T-shirt clad author of "Earning Money is Everything: From Zero to 10 Billion Yen, My Way" offended others, including members of the LDP's old guard.

It was unclear how voters in Kamei's constituency in Hiroshima, southern Japan, would react.

"Isn't it the wrong field for him? It's a bit worrying if we get someone who is not well-versed in politics," a middle-aged woman in Hiroshima said on TV.

There may be publicity value of a campaign for Horie's business, but the impact on profits may well be less.

Livedoor's stock, which rose more than nine percent on Thursday on talk that Horie would run, rose again after the announcement but closed down more than four percent.

"If he does win it seems likely the stock will be sold off," said Tsubasa Ihara, an investment information manager at Retela Crea Securities. "There's no way one can be both a member of parliament and president of a company."

The LDP has tapped a string of celebrity candidates, mostly women, who have been labelled assassins or madonnas, to run against party rebels and court unaffiliated "floating voters" who have been key to recent elections.

Prominent among them are Yuriko Koike, a former television anchorwoman and now environment minister, cookery writer Makiko Fujino, who enjoys a Martha Stewart-like following among housewives, and finance ministry bureaucrat Satsuki Katayama, who once worked as a fashion model.

The LDP's celebrity tactic has sparked some criticism but is succeeding in keeping the spotlight off the opposition.

"Koizumi is very skilled at how to fight and at setting the agenda," said Yasunori Sone, a Keio University professor.

A survey by the Sankei newspaper and Fuji TV showed 55.5 percent of respondents wanted the LDP to stay in government and 49.3 percent said they wanted Koizumi to keep his job.

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