Obuchi elected PM after a House scare

Tokyo July 30: In a decisive victory, Japan's ruling party candidate Keizo Obuchi, 61, won the Lower House of Parliaments vote for Prime ...

Tokyo July 30: In a decisive victory, Japan8217;s ruling party candidate Keizo Obuchi, 61, won the Lower House of Parliaments vote for Prime Minister by a comfortable margin above the 249 vote majority today. The new Prime Minister snared 268 votes out of the 497 ballots cast in the ruling party-controlled Lower House, guaranteeing he would take the helm of the government as it struggles to pull the nation out of its deepest recession 8212; record high unemployment and spiralling bankruptcies 8212; since the end of World War II.

Obuchi, the longtime Liberal Democratic Party stalwart, who served as foreign minister until resigning along with the rest of the cabinet this morning, succeeded Ryutaro Hashimoto, who was forced to quit after voter outrage over the stumbling economy which caused the ruling party8217;s defeat in July 12 Upper House elections.

On the other hand, in a sign of the political divisions in Japans government, the opposition-dominated Upper House had endorsed Naoto Kan as Prime Minister with 142 votesof the 245 votes counted. Obuchi had come in second place in that race with 103 votes in the second ballot.

But with the Lower House having the power to overrule any Upper House decision, Obuchi was made the Prime Minister. The split vote, the first time since 1989, required a conference meeting between the two chambers later in the afternoon. With no compromise being reached, the Lower House winner Obuchi was officially declared Prime Minister.

Though Obuchi faces divisions in his own party and the growing threat of an increasingly popular opposition, for the vote today the ruling party showed unity in backing him. Even former health minister Junichiro Koizumi, who challenged him for the LDP presidency, called for support for the new government. quot;Its not a question of believing in the new administration,quot; he said, quot;we have to believe in it and we have to work towards the end of solving Japans financial crisis.quot;

The opposition, meanwhile, said the victory in the Upper House better represented theopinions of the voters. quot;The Upper House results show that the vote in the Lower House does not reflect the will of the people,quot; declared Kan, the president of the Democratic Party.

Obuchi was to name his cabinet later today. The new Prime Ministers first priority would be the economy, a priority illustrated by the rapt attention the country has paid to Obuchi8217;s choice of former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa to head the high-profile finance ministry. While Obuchi is widely considered a cautious leader with few innovative ideas to reactivate Japans troubled economy, Miyazawa, 78, is respected by many an economics expert and is an architect of the governments plan to bail out its debt-laden banking system.

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Talks that Obuchi would pick Miyazawa, who served as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1993, triggered rallies in the Tokyo markets this week. On the Tokyo stock exchange this morning share prices moved higher, with investors taking the Miyazawa appointment as a sign the incoming government will take newmeasures to boost the economy. The Yen, however, slumped slightly against the US dollar.

Obuchi has already pledged to cut income taxes by 6 trillion Yen 42.6 billion and promised 10 trillion Yen 70.9 billion in new spending to kickstart economic growth and spur lagging consumption.