The Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election came and went Wednesday without much excitement or mystery, and Shinzo Abe is now LDP president as expected.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20060921a4a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='170'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Shinzo Abe </B> KYODO PHOTO</FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>Although it's usual for the media to focus on one candidate before the election, analysts say it is extremely rare that the party leader was unofficially chosen months ago.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>According to Rei Shiratori, a political science professor at Tokai University, it happened this time because Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi himself was grooming Abe as his successor.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Unlike the other candidates, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who have been politicians for more than two decades, Abe is relatively young, has no experience in a ministerial position and has been in politics for only 13 years.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>One major post he held in the LDP, however, was secretary general, and he was nominated for the job by Koizumi, Shiratori pointed out.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'Abe has no choice but to adhere to Koizumi's –

to a certain degree," he said. "Without Koizumi's guidance, Abe would never have become party president."

Abe won 464 votes, or 66 percent of the total, although he had reportedly been shooting for more than 70 percent. Aso came in second with 136 and Tanigaki got 102.

People all over Japan had predicted the outcome for months -- begging the question of why Aso and Tanigaki even bothered to run.

"They are positioning themselves for the next presidential election," Shiratori said, pointing out that the Abe government may have a short life span, especially if the LDP does poorly in next year's Upper House election.