Fukuda enters race, vows to avoid Yasukuni

Yasuo Fukuda, who is favored to win the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, said Saturday he will not visit war-related Yasukuni Shrine if elected prime minister and vowed to continue Japan's antiterrorism mission in the Indian Ocean. </PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20070916a1a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='214'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Taro Aso –

and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda shake hands at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday before holding a joint news conference. KYODO PHOTO

"Would you do something your friend doesn't want you to do? I don't think so," Fukuda said at a news conference Saturday morning to declare his candidacy.