国际英语新闻：Japan's ruling party leadership race officially starts

In terms of Japan's ailing economy and monumental debt, Ozawa said he will intervene in currency markets to weaken the yen, which has hit 15-year highs against the U.S. dollar recently, and take "every measure" to keep the yen from rising.

The former DPJ secretary general also pledged to introduce a 2 trillion yen (23.7 billion U.S. dollar) economic stimulus package, more than double that planned by his opponent in the election race.

Kan for his part maintained that he was "committed" to dealing with issues of public finances, increasing social security costs, improving social welfare and creating more jobs.

One of the major differences that came to light during the joint news conference held on Wednesday between the two political juggernauts is their stance on the thorny issue of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma base within Okinawa Prefecture.

Ozawa told reporters it is impossible for Japan and the United States to go ahead with their current plan, agreed on in May, given strong opposition from people in Okinawa, who are calling for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station to be moved outside the southwestern prefecture.

Kan however said the bilateral accord is valid and it is not necessary to launch fresh bilateral talks as this would be irresponsible. Ozawa denied he was saying that the countries needed to restart talks from scratch, media reports stated.

Despite reports of Tuesday's meeting between the two, the first since the DPJ failed to win a majority in the Upper House election on July 14., ended amicably, with the two shaking hands, many party members have commented that this kind of showdown should have been avoided in light of the economy's dire circumstances and the yen's surge battering Japan's export-led recovery.