LDP leader candidates seek PM Noda's resolute stance against China.

TOYOHASHI, Japan, Sept. 17 Kyodo

The five candidates vying for the top post of the major opposition Liberal Democratic Party called Monday on the government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to take a resolute stance against intensifying anti-Japan protests in China sparked by Japan's nationalization of a group of islets in the East China Sea claimed by China.

The five -- former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former defense ministers Shigeru Ishiba and Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and LDP Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara -- touched on the widespread anti-Japan demonstrations in China, which involved vandalism, as they took to the streets in Toyohashi in the central Japan prefecture of Aichi.

Abe, 57, said Japan needs to maintain its security alliance and relationship of trust with the United States to deal with China, which has been working to increase its military presence in the South China Sea and other sea areas.

Ishiba, 55, said, "China, Russia and South Korea try to catch (Japan) off guard. It is imperative for Japanese politicians to guard against this." Japan also has territorial disputes with Russia and South Korea.

Machimura, 67, criticized the Noda government for its poor handling of Japan-China relations, saying, "What on earth is the current government doing? Diplomacy based only on rhetoric will not be taken seriously."

Ishihara, 55, said China "cannot serve as a world leader" if it continues to allow anti-Japan protesters to attack factories and stores of Japanese companies in the country.

Hayashi, 51, who has also served as economic and fiscal policy minister, said the Japanese economy "will not be rejuvenated unless peace and stability are secured in the Asia-Pacific region."

Later in the day, the five are scheduled to stump in Nagoya, Otsu and Osaka in the run-up to the Sept. 26 LDP leadership poll.