In this 1978 photo distributed by Taro Aso office in Tokyo, Taro Aso, then 40-year-old, wearing a traditional Japanese festival outfit, rides on a float during the annual Iizuka Yamagasa festival in his hometown of Iizuka, southwestern Japan. Japan's troubled ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected brash former Foreign Minister Aso as its new leader Monday, Sept. 22, 2008. [Agencies]