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Japanese cabinet resigns, ruling party chief expected to replace comatose Obuchi |
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April 5, 2000
TOKYO, APR 4 (AP) - Japan's Cabinet rushed to resolve the country's leadership crisis Tuesday, resigning en masse and setting in motion the selection of a ruling party stalwart to replace ailing Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.
Yoshiro Mori, secretary-general of the Liberal Democrats, was expected to be named premier Wednesday, and a new Cabinet - with Obuchi as the only change - could be installed by the end of the day. |
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Government ministers vowed on Tuesday to move quickly and avoid a political vacuum in the aftermath of Obuchi's collapse. The 62-year-old premier suffered a stroke on Sunday and lapsed into a coma.
"It is regrettable that the leader of the government fell ill ... in such difficult times both at home and abroad," the ministers said in a statement after an emergency meeting. "We are determined to do our best."
With Obuchi's LDP firmly in control of Parliament, the changes were not expected to bring any major shift in direction in political or economic policies.
Mori, 62, the second-highest official in the LDP, has a reputation as a conservative, and analysts said he would come under considerable pressure to continue Obuchi's initiatives.
After two days of keeping a tight lid on information about Obuchi's condition or the possibility of replacing him, the government started the public search for a successor on Tuesday.
Obuchi, reportedly joined in a Tokyo hospital by his wife, Chizuko, his brother, and their three children, was under intensive care, kept alive on a respirator. Officials said it was clear he would not be able to resume his duties.
Political events were expected to move quickly.
The Cabinet resignations on Tuesday were needed to begin the formal process of replacing Obuchi. With that out of the way, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party official said, LDP members in Parliament were to vote Wednesday morning on a party president to replace Obuchi.
The LDP president would then be put up for the approval of Parliament as prime minister early Wednesday afternoon, and was assured of getting it because of the LDP's majority.
Party members said the natural choice would be Mori, a former journalist and veteran politician with a solid power base.
Mori has refused to comment on the prospect of becoming Japan's next leader. But he said he supports the decision to fill the vacuum left by Obuchi's collapse.
"We should not allow any delay in our national policy," Mori said. "Thinking of Prime Minister Obuchi, it's a very painful decision. But we shouldn't be carried away with emotion."
Japan's media also called for quick action to ease the succession crisis.
"The prime minister holds the final responsibility for our nation's politics," said an editorial in the conservative Yomiuri, Japan's largest newspaper. "If he cannot perform his duties, the effect on domestic politics and international affairs is serious."
The government continued its tight hold over information about Obuchi on Tuesday. Acting Prime Minister Mikio Aoki went to the hospital and later only said that there was no change in Obuchi's condition. He denied reports that Obuchi was brain dead.
The leadership crisis came as a volcanic eruption in northern Japan has 13,000 people in emergency shelters. Concerns were also being raised about the LDP's ruling alliance.
Just before Obuchi's stroke, the smaller of two parties with the LDP in a ruling coalition announced it was splitting off. The loss does not seriously threaten the Liberal Democrats' power, but could make it more difficult for them to pass legislation.
Though unable to block it, opposition lawmakers were expected to resist the appointment of a stopgap prime minister from the ruling coalition ranks. They were also expected to demand an early election, raising the possibility of a lower-house vote before July's G-8 summit, which Japan is to host.
Aoki has come under heavy criticism for failing to disclose the crisis for almost a full day. On Tuesday, he apologized for false reports that Obuchi had gone to bed as usual Saturday night.
"We will be careful in the future," Aoki said.
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