Japan's Mori says not really thinking of future

Mori, in Singapore for the ASEAN summit, says he is not thinking of the future

November 26, 2000
Web posted at: 8:40 AM HKT (0040 GMT)

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, beset by speculation about how long he can hang on to his job, said on Saturday he was not thinking of the future but was focused on pushing legislation through parliament.

Mori only just survived a no-confidence motion this week after a rebellion within his party sparked by his unpopularity and a string of verbal gaffes.

"What I most want to do now is to ensure we do not create stagnation, and with everyone's utmost efforts, we will succeed," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with China, South Korea and Japan.

One reason for the defeat of the no-confidence motion was a recognition among politicians of the need to wrap up pending legislation before the parliamentary session ends on December 1, Mori said.

"Once parliament is over and everything is settled, then we will move onto the next big issue," Mori said, hinting at a cabinet reshuffle expected in early December.

The shadow over Mori's own political future underscored his weakness at the Singapore summit, even as he tried to promote Japan's role as a leader of economic change in Asia.

Asked by reporters what new policy initiatives he had in mind, Mori smiled and replied: "I am not particularly thinking of the future."

That future has been in doubt since his popularity plunged to near record low levels and reformist rivals voiced their open frustration at his government's apparent inability to implement vital but painful economic reforms.

To avoid gaffes, Mori read from cue cards at a brief news conference. A Japanese official standing nearby visibly sighed with relief when he finished speaking without misplacing a word.

Domestic media have suggested that even his talks with other leaders at the meeting in Singapore were scripted.

"This clearly shows just what sort of condition Mori is in," said an editorial in the Sankei Shimbun.

"If Mori makes another blunder now, it will be the end," it quoted sources close to Mori as saying.

Before taking office in April, Mori was already known as a man with an unerring ability to put his foot in his mouth, having committed a series of verbal blunders that included insults about AIDS, Americans, and residents of Japan's southern island of Okinawa.

But a string of verbal blunders that began a month later quickly whittled inaugural support ratings of a respectable 40 percent down to less than half that by November.

Mori's worried backers are all too aware of the danger.

Hiromu Nonaka, the eminence grise of Mori's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), on Friday issued the latest in a series of warnings to the prime minister to behave himself.

"I do not want Prime Minister Mori to relax his efforts, nor to think he has gained the confidence of the people, and I want him to be careful not to create a strange atmosphere," he said.

"I have to keep telling him that all the time," Nonaka said.

Nonaka, who played a key role in helping Mori defeat the no-confidence motion, said Mori could visit Russia before the end of the year, apparently suggesting he is likely to remain in office at least until early next year.

If Mori is not forced out during the cabinet reshuffle expected in December, the next chance -- barring a major misstep by the politically accident-prone prime minister -- could come in March when the LDP holds its annual convention.

Mori tried to quash speculation that he could lose his job soon if an election for presidency of the LDP, the job that gives him the premiership, is brought forward from March.

Asked about an early LDP convention, Mori said: "I haven't heard anything directly about this. Why should we do this?"

Mori's popularity ratings remain beneath the critical 20 percent level, and speculation has been rife that he will be forced to quit to improve the LDP's image with voters ahead of a key election for parliament's Upper House next July.

Financial markets and Japanese voters alike were dismayed when the reformists abstained from the no-confidence vote after they had vowed to topple Mori and shift policy away from reliance on pork-barrel spending toward reforms needed to revitalize the world's second largest economy.

The yen dipped to nine-month lows around 111 to the dollar late on Friday on concerns about Japan's political situation and uncertainty over the outlook for economic recovery and reform.

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