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Former Japanese prime minister dies |
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May 15, 2000
TOKYO, May 14 (UNB/AP) - Former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who was replaced last month as premier after suffering a stroke, died Sunday, officials said. He was 62.
Michiko Shimizu, an official in Obuchi's administrative office, said the former premier died at 4:07 p.m. (0707 GMT) in Tokyo's Juntendo Hospital, where he had been hospitalized in a coma since last month.
News reports earlier in the day said that Obuchi's blood pressure had dropped to a near-critical level, and he was becoming unresponsive to medication to stimulate circulation.
The reports came a day after several Japanese media organizations said that the former prime minister's condition had taken a serious turn for the worse, citing unnamed hospital sources. Many senior politicians canceled plans to leave Tokyo for the weekend, newspapers reported Saturday.
A switchboard operator at Juntendo Hospital, where Obuchi has been receiving intensive care since April 2, said on Sunday that no hospital officials were available for comment over the weekend.
Government officials have been tight-lipped about Obuchi's condition, and their reticence has been widely criticized by the Japanese public and media.
Obuchi is survived by his wife, Chizuko, two daughters and a son. Details of funeral arrangements were not immediately available.
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