Posted on 10/15/2004 1:25:45 AM PDT by ambrose
Japan Ruling Party Executive Slams Kerry on N.Korea
Fri Oct 15, 2004 04:15 AM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - The No. 2 official in Japan's ruling party sharply criticized U.S. Democratic challenger John Kerry's North Korea policy Friday, adding that he hoped President Bush would be re-elected, media said. The comments come a day after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made remarks that appeared to suggest he would prefer to see Bush win the Nov. 2 U.S. presidential election.
"I think there would be trouble if it's not President Bush," Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe told a radio program, Kyodo news agency reported.
"For instance, Mr Kerry wants to handle the North Korean issue bilaterally, which is out of the question. We're now in the era of multilateralism," Takebe was quoted as saying.
Japan's opposition parties attacked Koizumi for his comments, which they said constituted interference in the internal politics of another country.
Asked by reporters about the U.S. election, Koizumi said on Thursday: "I am very close to President Bush. So I want him to do his best."
The prime minister has not only forged warm personal ties with Bush, but was quick to support the U.S.-led war in Iraq and sent non-combat troops to help rebuild the country despite opposition from the majority of Japanese voters.
Many ordinary Japanese, however, prefer Kerry.
A poll published by the liberal Asahi Shimbun daily Friday showed that 51 percent of respondents wanted the Massachusetts senator to win, while 30 percent favored the incumbent president.
I guess Kerry isn't getting behind the scenes support from the Japanese as he claims of so many others...
Note that although the leader of the country supports Bush, "ordinary people" do not.
The Japanese are more brainwashed by the media than Americanos !
Koizumi is a smart man.
Koizumi knows which way the wind is blowing ...
I really believe we will be MORE unpopular in the world if Kerry is president. It's one thing to be unpopular doing the right thing (fighting Islamoterrorism) but it's another to have an undiplomatic jacka$$ for president who insults our true allies and manages to simultaneously suck up to our enemies. That's a no win situation.
I think Kerry would be WORSE than Carter if that's possible.
And the media still shamelessly stumps for Kerry. I think you're right. And Carter was an absolute disaster for this country.
bttt
IIRC, Japan, Russia, and Poland are supporting Bush.
Bump - this deserves some daytime visibility.
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