Yasuo Fukuda is hardly the most dynamic politician in Japan. Saggy-jowled and owlish in his trademark glasses, the 71-year-old son of a former prime minister prefers gray suits, classical music and moderate, pro-U.S. policies.
Yet for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Fukuda, despite his lack of charisma, is the man of the moment.
The LDP, which has nosedived in popularity under the disastrous one-year term of nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is betting the former oil company man can revive the party's fortunes and outwit the resurgent opposition.