Japan leadership battle kicks off

TOKYO — Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his rival, powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, kicked off a leadership battle Wednesday that threatens to divide the ruling party only a year after it took power.Their contest to run the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and the nation comes as an economic recovery is sputtering, Japan's debt mountain is growing and exports are threatened by the yen trading at a 15-year high.The two rivals, who both formally declared their candidacy for the September 14 party election, represent the two different wings of the party which a year ago ousted the conservatives after more than half as century in power.Ozawa, 68, is a veteran powerbroker who years ago defected from the conservative Liberal Democrats and has earned nicknames like "Shadow Shogun" and "Destroyer" for his record of creating and splitting minor parties.Kan, 63, on the other hand, started his political life as a left-wing grassroots activist and shot to fame when, during a brief stint as health minister, he uncovered official culpability in a HIV-tainted blood scandal.Both were key figures in the DPJ when it took power in a landmark election on August 30 last year, but they split following the resignation of the DPJ's first premier Yukio Hatoyama in June, when Kan took over the post.Kan, on assuming power, snubbed and sidelined Ozawa, who in turn attacked Kan for presiding over a major defeat in upper house elections in July, blaming him for the rout because he had mentioned the prospect of tax hikes.Although Ozawa is unpopular with voters because of a series of campaign funding scandals, in which he vehemently denies any wrongdoing, he controls the biggest faction within the DPJ, with about 150 out of 412 lawmakers.He first declared his intention to oust Kan last week and reconfirmed his candidacy Tuesday after last-minute peace talks, brokered by Hatoyama, failed.Most pundits have shied away from making strong predictions on who will win, while media reported on the looming gladiatorial battle within the

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