Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan

Yasuo Fukuda, Former Prime Minister of Japan

Fukuda was born in Takasaki, Gunma, the eldest son of politician (later the 67th Prime Minister) Takeo Fukuda.He grew up in Setagaya, Tokyo, attending Azabu High School and graduating from Waseda University in 1959 with a degree in economics. After university, he joined Maruzen Petroleum (now part of the Cosmo Oil Company). He was only minimally involved in politics over the next seventeen years, working his way up to section chief as a typical Japanese "salaryman". He was posted to the United States from 1962 to 1964.

While his father Takeo Fukuda was prime minister from 1976 to 1978, Yasuo became a political secretary. From 1978 to 1989, he was a director of the Kinzai Institute for Financial Affairs, serving as a trustee from 1986 onward.
Fukuda ran for the House of Representatives in 1990 and won a seat. He was elected deputy director of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1997 and became Chief Cabinet Secretary to Yoshiro Mori in October 2000. He resigned his position as Chief Cabinet Secretary on 7 May 2004 amid a large political scandal related to the Japanese pension system.
Fukuda was considered a contender for the leadership of the LDP in 2006, but on 21 July he decided that he would not seek the nomination. Instead, Shinzo Abe succeeded Junichiro Koizumi as leader of the LDP and Prime Minister of Japan.

One of his most noted policy goals is to end prime ministerial visits to Yasukuni Shrine. In June 2006, Fukuda joined 134 other lawmakers in proposing a secular alternative to the shrine, citing constitutional concerns.
Following Abe's resignation in September 2007, Fukuda announced that he would run in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, which would also determine the prime minister, given the LDP's majority in the House of Representatives. Fukuda received a great deal of support in his bid, including that of the LDP's largest faction, led by Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, of which Fukuda is a member.Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga‎, who initially had intended to run for the leadership, also backed Fukuda. Fukuda's only competitor for the leadership, Taro Aso, publicly acknowledged the likelihood of his own defeat a week before the election.
In the election, on 23 September, Fukuda defeated Aso, receiving 330 votes against Aso's 197. Fukuda was formally elected as Japan's 91st prime minister on 25 September. He received 338 votes, almost 100 more than necessary for a majority, in the House of Representatives; although the House of Councillors (the upper house), led by the opposition Democratic Party, elected Ichiro Ozawa over Fukuda by a margin of 133 to 106. This deadlock was then resolved in favor of the lower house's choice, according to Article 67 of the Constitution.

Fukuda and his cabinet were formally sworn in by Emperor Akihito on 26 September.

Shinzo Abe, Former Prime Minister of Japan

Shinzo Abe was born into a distinguished political family.  His father was Shintaro Abe, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and his grandfather was former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.  Following graduation from the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Law at Seikei University in 1977, Mr. Abe studied politics at the University of Southern California.  On his return to Japan, Mr. Abe began to work at the Kobe Steel Ltd., in New York, Kakogawa, Tokyo and continued there until 1982.  He then served as executive assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, private secretary to the chairperson of the LDP General Council, and then as private secretary to the LDP secretary-general.  After his father's death in 1991, Mr. Abe organized a network of supporters and established Shinzo Abe supporters' office.  In 1993, Mr. Abe received the highest vote count in the Yamaguchi 1st District in his fast run for the House of Representatives.  He was appointed to the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, and also served as director of the LDP Social Affairs Division, where he focused on the pension and the social security systems.  He has served as deputy chief cabinet secretary from 2000 to 2003 September in the Mori and Koizumi Cabinets.  Then he has appointed to the Secretary General of LDP.  He was recently re-elected in the general election for a forth term under the 2003 general election.

Mr. Abe, with his sincere personality, has attracted attention from the public. He has been active as a government negotiator on behalf of the families of Japanese abductees who have placed their trust in his efforts.