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.