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Japan's new prime minister pressed for elections |
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April 7, 2000
TOKYO, APR 6 (AP) - In selecting Yoshiro Mori as the country's new prime minister, Japan's ruling party had hoped to end a succession crisis created by the sudden collapse of Keizo Obuchi.
But on Mori's first day in office, it appeared the crisis was anything but over.
Opposition leaders and major newspapers on Thursday demanded Mori call snap elections to prove his mandate, voters seemed to see him as a stand-in and rumors were rife that his fellow Liberal Democrats were already jockeying to be next in line.
Mori, a former trade minister, was installed as prime minister with a solid majority of votes Wednesday in both houses of Parliament, replacing Obuchi, who has been in a coma since suffering a massive stroke last weekend.
On Thursday, Obuchi remained comatose and on life support at Tokyo's Juntendo hospital, said chief Cabinet secretary Mikio Aoki. Obuchi's wife, Chizuko, and three children were with him, but his brother returned home, reportedly because it appears Obuchi's condition could remain the same for some time.
As soon as it became clear that Obuchi's condition was grave, Liberal Democratic Party officials rallied behind Mori, the party's second-in-command.
Pledging to stay his predecessor's course, Mori has retained all of the ministers in the Obuchi Cabinet for his new administration. And in his first news conference, he vowed to emphasize Obuchi's economic and political reform initiatives as well.
His top priority, he said, will be to nurse Japan's budding economic recovery and boost private consumption, long considered the central weak spot.
"I must continue to keep Prime Minister Obuchi's thoughts in mind," Mori said as he began his first day in office. "That is very important to me."
Among Mori's first official acts was a brief telephone conversation with U.S. President Bill Clinton and a meeting with a visiting Chinese Communist Party leader.
But outside of the premier's official residence storms were brewing.
Though Mori has a solid record as a leader within the ruling party, he has a relatively weak Cabinet portfolio. He's never been foreign or finance minister, and many analysts see him as highly vulnerable to rivals within the LDP.
"He is not knowledgeable on foreign policy or the economy," said Fukuji Taguchi, a political scientist at Tokyo's Ritsumeikan University. "He doesn't have much leadership ability, and often makes controversial comments."
Opposition party leaders, meanwhile, strongly criticized the manner in which Mori was chosen, pointing out that it was the convenience of the ruling party and not his accomplishments as a statesman that won him the nomination.
The opposition could not block Mori's election because the Liberal Democrats' majority in Parliament assures their president of being installed as prime minister.
The opposition is calling for quick elections. "We are pressing for elections as soon as possible," said Ichiro Nakayama, an official with the Democratic Party, Japan's largest opposition group.
He said that would probably be June, after budget-related bills have been passed. Elections for the lower house of Parliament must be held by October. Though Mori has said he wants to deal with policy issues first, most analysts now believe he will likely have to call the elections before world leaders arrive here for the G-8 summit in July.
Opinion within the ruling party appears to be split. While some support Mori, others believe they can capitalize on a sympathy vote if elections come soon.
Still, Mori's support in public looked shaky, with many voters angry over the failure of party leaders to disclose Obuchi's hospitalization for nearly a day.
"I don't think the government should have kept it as a secret," said Keiko Yoshida, 40, a Tokyo bank worker. "Things were changing while we had no idea."
Virtually all major newspapers ran editorials Thursday demanding Mori call elections to prove his administration's mandate.
"There are many reasons to be concerned about Mori's political position," said an editorial in the liberal Asahi, one of Japan's largest newspapers.
"Although he climbed the political ladder successfully in terms of factional politics," it said, "his mettle as a political leader is untested."
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