As Liberal Democratic Party heavyweights continue to search unsuccessfully for a consensus choice to succeed Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, some relatively younger Cabinet ministers from minor factions have been mentioned as possible candidates.
The two most prominent are 60-year-old Taro Aso, minister for economic and fiscal affairs, and Justice Minister Masahiko Komura, 59.
Aso is a member of a faction of 12 lawmakers led by Foreign Minister Yohei Kono. Komura is chairman of the 13-member former Komoto faction, which is still named after its founder, the retired Diet member Toshio Komoto.