Hashimoto steps in as Japan's prime minister

January 11, 1996
Web posted at: 12:50 p.m EST (1750 GMT)

From Correspondent John Lewis and wire reports

TOKYO (CNN) -- Ryutaro Hashimoto became Japan's fifth prime minister in just two and a half years Thursday, elected as expected by the Diet (parliament). He is the first Liberal Democratic Party prime minister since July 1993, when the pro-business party lost its four-decade hold on power after a slew of scandals.

Hashimoto, tapped to succeed Socialist Party leader Tomiichi Murayama, now has the challenging task of holding together an unwieldy coalition as he faces tough opposition and Japan's economic troubles. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is the largest group in the ruling coalition.

Hashimoto, 58, is seen as a popular and flamboyant politician. He has named a 20-member cabinet that includes a socialist in the finance portfolio and the first woman to serve as Japan's justice minister.

Usually a tough-talking politician -- he made headlines last year by stonewalling U.S. car trade demands -- his first words as prime minister were low-key. "I have a very heavy responsibility," he told reporters as he stepped into his office.

Now that he has ascended to the top spot, there remains the question of what, if anything, will change in Japanese government. The coalition still rules, but there is no doubt now who is calling the shots. And many observers believe Hashimoto has the clout to succeed where Murayama failed.

"Hashimoto has a much stronger power base in the Japanese political circle than his predecessor did," said political consultant Yukio Okamoto.

And political analyst Keith Henry said, "Hashimoto will be a little bit more unilateral, be able to break through some of the deadlocks that bureaucracies love to, in a sense, swim in."

Outside Japan, Hashimoto has been painted as a no-nonsense nationalist with a rough-and-tumble style, but change is expected in his relations with foreign nations. Okamoto, describing Hashimoto as a smart person, said, "As the prime minister he will have to modify his position because he cannot afford to break up (the) U.S.-Japan relationship."

Observers are also saying that while Asian nations welcome Hashimoto as Japan's prime minister, they believe his controversial stance on Japan's actions during World War II could cause friction.

As chairman of the Japan War Bereaved Families Association, Hashimoto was instrumental in watering down the government's official apology last year for Japan's wartime aggression. And in October 1994, he said it was a "delicate matter of definitions" as to whether Japan committed aggression against Asian nations during World War II.

But China, where 35 million people were reportedly killed during Japanese colonial rule from 1931 to 1945, said Hashimoto is "an old friend with whom we have had contact for many years." And foreign ministry spokesman Chen Jian said Japanese politicians can "lead the Japanese people to treat history correctly, learn the lessons that should be learned and continue to walk the path of peaceful development."

In Seoul, The Korea Times newspaper reported Hashimoto could foster a nationalistic movement and upset ties with Seoul, and said his government "may gradually take on a more aggressive stance after it finds itself firmly in the saddle, and feels it can express positions now kept under cover."

But Seoul's foreign ministry director, Shim Yoon-jo, said he believed Hashimoto's resignation last October as chairman of the Japan War Bereaved Families Association showed the value he put to Japan's ties with its neighbors. "He knows good ties with neighboring nations are in Japan's national interest," Shim said.

Academician Lam Peng Er of the National University of Singapore pointed out, "Once you become prime minister, you behave differently -- you become more circumspect and harmonize your relations with your neighbors. Japan does not want to antagonize China or Korea." But, Lam was less hopeful about Hashimoto being able to reverse Japan's economic woes, saying "a new broom" can't clean the economic mess.

Australian leaders said they greatly supported Hashimoto's tough talk on trade liberalization. "He is a forceful, decisive character with international trade policies sympathetic to our sorts of goals," said Trade Minister Bob McMullan.

But, many observers believe that no matter what Hashimoto may do on the policy and legislative fronts, his primary focus will be positioning his conservative LDP for the expected general election later this year. He will be facing off against the conservative opposition led by a former LDP colleague, Ichiro Ozawa.

That, the analysts say, smells of politics as usual. Consultant Okamoto said it's all about power, and that's not always good for the country. (153K AIFF sound or 153K WAV sound) Analyst Keith Henry is even more blunt, saying Hashimoto's government may be "the same bums." (77K AIFF sound or 77K WAV sound)

Hashimoto must call general elections by July 1997. Senior LDP officials said he does not intend to do so before September, out of consideration for the other two parties in the coalition, which are ill-prepared to go to the polls.

Overall, political change in Japan these days could be more generational than philosophical. If there is any change at all, observers say it would be in a Japanese fashion -- slow, measured, and well-controlled.

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Reuters news service contributed to this report.