the ldp's in opposition now. but with an election on the horizon, members elected abe as their leader, hoping he can help them push the ruling democratic party out of power. nhk's world mayuko amby reports. >> reporter: the outcome of the ldp leadership election marks a political comeback for shinzo abe. he became prime minister of japan in 2006, but he struggled with poor health and resigned after a year in office. >> translator: my victory today will not erase my responsibility for suddenly resigning as prime minister five years ago. keeping that in mind, i will try my utmost with all of you for the party to regain power. >> abe used his campaign to take a tough stance on japan's territorial disputes. he solidified his support base within the party. lawmakers and local party members cast ballots in the first round of voting. four of them opted for the ldp's policy chief shigeru ishiba. only lawmakers could take part in the runoff. most picked abe. public opinion polls suggest the ldp stands a good chance of for

then they kicked the ldp out of power. the democrats took over. but then the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster last year set the government back. latest polls suggest many japanese feel that the democrats have shown little leadership and that the ldp will win the most seats in the next general election. so the new party leader, abe, could well become japan's next prime minister. >> so now as party leader what will abe be pushing for? >> abe has said that the democrats have undermined japan's diplomacy and security and they've eroded japan-u.s. alliance. he said this allowed china, south korea and russia to reassert their territorial claims to islands in the region. so i think he'll focus first on rebuilding ties with the u.s. abe has also criticized noda's energy policy, he said abolishing all nuclear plants is not the protocol and would hurt industry. he also said monetary easing is needed in order to overcome deflation and a stronger yen. >> here in japan we have the new party, japan restoration party, being called the third poll of japan

the polls suggest that the ldp is in a good position to defeat the dpj. so the candidate who becomes the next party leader might find himself as prime minister within months. >> what about this new party, nippon ishin no kai? >> mm-hmm. voters who are tired of the establishment parties are now looking at this so-called third poll. nippon ishin no kai" means restore japan. hashimoto wants to review japan's pacifist constitution, promote free trade, and cut the number of diet members in half, along with cutting the salaries of those who remain. his populist and nationalist views have won him support. but some find him -- some see him as a charismatic politician, who is more about style than substance. you know, he is aiming to win more than a third of the seat in the lower house. make no mistake, hashimoto will be a key player in the coming elections. >> nhk world's senior political commentator masayo nakajima. >>> japan's coast guard says six chinese ships entered japanese waters friday morning near disputed islands in the east china sea. the ships left th

>> well, noda's dpj is trailing in the polls behind the main opposition in the former ruling ldp and the new party, japan restoration party, which is led by the mayor of osaka. toru hashimoto is attracting attention with his populist and nationalist proposals such as cutting the number of diet members in half and promoting free trade. the democrats took office three years ago, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken rule by the ldp. they promised change, but they couldn't deliver. you know, voters are now considering giving another chance to the former ruling ldp or taking a chance on the yet-untested new party, japan restoration party. politics in japan could be in for a change now. >> so what sort of changes should we then expect? >> well, it is looking like the ldp or the japan restoration party could win the most seats in the election in the lower house. japan's next prime minister would be from one of those parties. both parties support noda's consumption tax hike, but both are critical of how the prime minister has handled territorial disputes with china and south ko

the polls suggest that the ldp is in a good position to defeat the dpj. so the candidate who becomes the next party leader might find himself as prime minister within months. >> what about this new party, nippon ishin no kai? >> mm-hmm. voters are tired of the establishment parties are now looking at this so-called third pole. nippon ishin no kai means restore japan. hashimoto wants to review japan's pacifist constitution, promote free trade, and cut the number of diet members in half, along with cutting the salaries of those who remain. his populist and nationalist views have won him support. but some find him -- see him as a charismatic politician, who is more about style than substance. you know, he is aiming to win more than a third of the seat in the lower house. make no mistake, hashimoto will be a key player in the coming elections. >> nhk world's senior political commentator masayo nakajima. >>> japan's coast guard says six chinese ships entered japanese waters friday morning near disputed islands in the east china sea. the ships left the area aro

>> well, noda's dpj is trailing in the polls behind the main opposition in the former ruling ldp and the new party, japan restoration party, which is led by the mayor of osaka. toru hashimoto is attracting attention with his populist and nationalist proposals such as cutting the number of diet members in half and promoting free trade. the democrats took office three years ago, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken rule by the ldp. they promised change, but they couldn't deliver. you know, voters are now considering giving another chance to the former ruling ldp or taking a chance on the yet-untested new party, japan restoration party. politics in japan could be in for a change now. >> so what sort of changes should we then expect? >> well, it is looking like the ldp or the japan restoration party could win the most seats in the election in the lower house. japan's next prime minister would be from one of those parties. both parties support noda's consumption tax hike, but both are critical of how the prime minister has handled territorial disputes with china and south ko

available to everybody else remained because we did not want to get into this pitting that says the ldp -- lgbt community is monopolizing all the affordable housing. i serve the entire hiv community and i want to make sure that everybody i work with has fair access to those 50 units of bmr. we have been involved in this project for years and are 100% opposed to any reduction in the on-site affordable. this is an opportunity for us to demonstrate a commitment to all low-income communities in san francisco and not merely be seen as self-serving for the lgbt community. it is californians, it is prop 8, and part of our broader social movement. president fong: additional public comment? we will open up to commissioner questions. public comment is closed. commissioner sugaya: yes, i do not know if staffas here to answer. -- staff is here to answer. i have something else, too. as far as the connection to haight street, i think we have to make sure that it is a proper kind of connection. there is a connection that goes into the community garden. that is an important connection. that can be desi

five lawmakers will take part in the ldp leadership election. the former prime minister is expected to declare his candidacy on wednesday. he says he wants to revooif japan by rediscovering the country's potential. he will announce a plan for the constitutional and educational reforms he tackled when he was prime minister. the former defense minister is also likely to announce his candidacy. the acting policy chief says he has secured the support of 20 lawmakers. this is the minimum figure he needs to run. former party policy chief isiba and machimura and former secretary ishihara will take part in the leadership election. campaigning will begin on friday and voting will take place on september 26th. >>> president obama says the u.s. is now safer and stronger. he honored the victims of september 11th during a speech on the 11th anniversary of the attacks. obama took part in a memorial service at the pentagon. hi jackers flew a plane into the u.s. military headquarters in 2001 and left 184 people dead. the president delivered his speech after obs

he wants to challenge the established parties, the dpj and ldp, in the next general election. the poll suggests 54% of voters have some or high expectations for hashimoto's party. and those with expectations, 40% say that's because the party seems better than other parties. earlier i spoke with nhk world's mayuka ambe to dig a little more about this new player on the political scene here in japan. so michael what would make voters choose hashimoto. >> many got to know todo hashimoto on tv. he gained fame by commenting on trials, legal issues and scandals on talk shows and news programs. he has a remarkable 258ent to articulate what people are thinking, so he attracted viewers across japan. he used that fame to enter the political sphere. voters like his direct manner of speaking, and many find his proposals easy to understand. he describes his support as a third pole, an alternative to the two main parties in the central government. hashimoto has set out what some might call ambitious policies for the upcoming general election. for example, he proposed cutting the number of me

canned at that times are campaigning to win a majority out of 498 ballots. 198 votes are allocated to ldp lawmakers. the other 300 to party members. former prim mine officer shinzo abe, schilling gather row ishiba and ishihara are splitting most of the votes. ishii ba is likely to gain support among voters but less likely among lawmakers. abe is second place, gaining support from a group close to party leader tanagaki. ishihara is in third. if none of the five candidates wins a majority you the top two will head into a runoff. >>> taiwanese fishermen have docked back in their home ports, froex the purchase of the senkaku islands in the east china saturday taiwan and china claim the territory. the fishermen entered japanese waters around the islands on tuesday. japanese coast guard officers say about 60 taiwanese fishing boats and 12 patrol vessels sailed into the area. the fishing boats returned to their ports. the crews were welcomed with fireworks on their arrival. the area surrounding the eye law and sass traditional fishing ground and they were protecting their right to survive, they