Japan's Tanigaki will step down if loses election

SINGAPORE: Japan's Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki will step down if, as expected, he loses a bid next week to take over as ruling party chief and, thus, prime minister next week, he said late on Saturday.   

Tanigaki is one of three candidates in a Liberal Democrat Party leadership election on Wednesday, but is expected to lose out to frontrunner, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe.   

"I was asked whether I would remain as finance minister if I don't win," Tanigaki told reporters in Singapore after a dinner with other delegates to a Group of Seven (G7) meeting of finance ministers and central bankers.   

"I said it is impossible because my views on fiscal policy are different from those of the one who is expected to win."   

Some economists have expressed concern about Abe's economic policy of putting growth ahead of fiscal reform, which is in contrast to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's emphasis on reining in spending.   

Internal Affairs Minister Heizo Takenaka, Koizumi's right-hand man on economic reforms, said on Friday he would resign as a lawmaker later this month, suggesting he does not expect to play a major role in Abe's administration.