Obuchi says only a politician can be finance chief
Obuchi says only a politician can be finance chief
TOKYO (Reuters): New Japanese leader Keizo Obuchi ruled out yesterday anyone except a politician as his finance minister, keeping the world guessing about the key appointment of his cabinet.
Describing the choice of finance minister as possibly more important than his own selection as prime minister, Obuchi vowed to appoint an "Economic Rebirth Cabinet" that would turn Japan again into a "rich and virtuous nation".
Obuchi will be installed as prime minister on Thursday and announce his cabinet the same day.
He spent 12 hours of yesterday on a lightning visit to a meeting in Manila of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) also attended by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Obuchi was selected president of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last Friday -- a choice that guarantees he becomes prime minister because the party has a comfortable majority in the Lower House of parliament.
"The finance minister post carries political responsibility that could be greater than the prime minister," he told reporters who traveled with him on his plane to Manila.
"The post must be filled by someone who was elected in elections by voters," he said. "Although there are 125 million people in Japan, there are not many who can do the job."
Obuchi's comments, added to his choice on Saturday of veteran politicians to fill the top spots in the LDP, signaled he had no plans to rock the economic management of the world's second largest economy, which is going through its worst recession since World War Two.
In a meeting with Albright, Obuchi received a much-needed boost to his image from Secretary of State Albright who told him she preferred "cold pizza to hot pizza".
It was a reference to media portrayals of the Japanese leader as a bland figure not up to the job of rescuing Japan.
A Japanese official said that in the meeting Obuchi complained about the descriptions of him as "cold pizza". "To tell you the truth, I like cold pizza more than hot pizza," the official quoted Albright as saying.
She urged Obuchi to restore Japan's economy to growth so as to pull Asia out of its financial crisis, the official said.
Obuchi told Albright he would press ahead with plans to carry out income and corporate tax cuts worth six trillion yen (US$42.5 billion) and a 10 trillion yen ($71.4 billion) extra budget to get Japan out of recession.
Honeymoon
Analysts expect a "honeymoon" period free from attacks by the opposition and global markets until the cabinet is announced. If they are the wrong cabinet names, Obuchi can quickly expect thunder from all sides.
"It's a battle against time," said Ryosuke Tsuji, senior vice president of the foreign exchange department at Societe Generale in Tokyo.
Top opposition leader Naoto Kan said Obuchi would be forced to call a general election by the end of the year and aides of Seiroku Kajiyama, who is finance minister of choice for global markets, ruled out the possibility of the veteran politician taking the post.
Asked if Kajiyama would accept the position if offered it, Shizuo Sato, an MP who supported Kajiyama in his unsuccessful race against Obuchi for the LDP presidency, said: "I don't think he will take it."
In appointments that bowed to the power of factions, Obuchi chose Yoshiro Mori as party secretary-general, the top post after president; former Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda was named Policy Research Council chairman; while former Postal Minister Takashi Fukaya was named General Council chairman.
Opposition leader Kan, head of the Democratic Party, said Obuchi would not last the year because he was selected by LDP factions rather than by the public.
"There will be a Lower House election before the end of the year because the incoming government is illegitimate and will handle affairs of state poorly," Kan said in a speech in western Japan.
Obuchi ruled out an opposition hold-up of urgently needed economic legislation because it would be political suicide for them at a time of crisis for the nation.