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Japan's durian-loving vaccination minister Kono tones down divisive maverick image

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Mr Kono has won plaudits at home and abroad for being an unorthodox Japanese politician.

PHOTO: REUTERS

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TOKYO - In 2009, after the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost power in a general election, Mr Taro Kono decided to run for the party presidency to wipe out the "rotten apples".
That brash approach did not go down well in the LDP and now, 12 years later, it appears to be a lesson he has kept in mind as he takes a second stab at the presidency.
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