Foreign Minister Taro Aso looked satisfied on the evening of Sept. 20, 2006 — right after the results of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election came in.
The day happened to be his 66th birthday, and he got an unexpected gift — winning 136 votes — far more than earlier forecast. Although Aso ended a distant runnerup, he emerged as a likely successor to the winner, Shinzo Abe, who got 464 votes and went on to become prime minister.
"I will work harder to (become LDP president) someday," said a beaming Aso, blowing out candles on his birthday cake.