Japan's ruling party on Sunday picked Yasuo Fukuda, an advocate of warmer ties with Asian neighbors, to be the next prime minister, but the 71-year-old lawmaker faces a likely policy deadlock in a divided parliament. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) rallied behind Fukuda, the son of a former premier who is seen as a competent moderate, hoping he can bring stability and stave off calls for an early election after a year of scandal and missteps that ended in the sudden resignation of Shinzo Abe. The bespectacled Fukuda, looking solemn, bowed to applause from LDP lawmakers and officials after the result of the vote was announced at the party's Tokyo headquarters. "The LDP is facing an extremely difficult situation and I want to work first to revive the party and win back people's trust," Fukuda said after the vote, referring to the ruling coalition's humiliating defeat in a July upper house election.