Word: miki
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Thunderous applause and shouts of "Banzai!" rang through the plush Tokyo headquarters of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party last week as Takeo Fukuda, 71, was unanimously chosen party president. Just minutes earlier, a grim-faced Takeo Miki, Japan's incumbent Premier, had received nearly as tumultuous an ovation when he bowed out as head of the party. The script was replayed the following day in the Diet's lower house; this time Miki resigned as Premier and Fukuda, with the L.D.P. controlling a bare majority of seats in the chamber, again succeeded him, becoming Japan...
...smooth transition of power from Miki to Fukuda was greeted by L.D.P. leaders and their powerful business allies with a collective sigh of relief. Until last week there were fears that Miki would oppose Fukuda's candidacy and possibly lead his 42-man faction out of the party. But Miki quit without a fight when it became apparent that the party was united against...
Succeeding Kakuei Tanaka in 1974, Miki had earned his colleagues' enmity by demanding a full, open investigation of the Lockheed scandal, even though it meant exposing the corruption of leading L.D.P. members. He was also widely blamed for the party's setback in last month's elections for the Diet's 511-seat lower house, in which L.D.P. strength dropped to 249 representatives-a loss of 16 (TIME, Dec. 20). In order to continue governing, the L.D.P. has had to co-opt a dozen conservative representatives who ran as independents in the election with Liberal Democratic...
...Miki's strongest challenger is his harshest critic, former Deputy Premier Takeo Fukuda, 71, who has lined up powerful backing from among the L.D.P.'s half-dozen factions in a bid to succeed Miki. Their rivalry became so bitter that they maintained separate national headquarters during the three-week campaign and kept up a running feud that badly damaged L.D.P. prospects. One possible compromise choice is Finance Minister Masayoshi Ohira. Miki is genuinely convinced that radical reforms are needed to refurbish the L.D.P.'s image. His diagnosis: "The party caused its own defeat because we failed...
Throughout, the L.D.P. lived in symbiosis with the industrial giants of "Japan Inc." At election time, lavish flows of corporate cash fueled the L.D.P. campaigns. Frequent scandals were quickly buried, and in the heady atmosphere of growth, few cared. But all that has changed since 1974, when Miki stepped in as the L.D.P.'s compromise choice to replace disgraced Premier Tanaka. The L.D.P.'s decline may be hard to reverse. Says one high Miki aide: "I would not rule out a breakup of the party. We're in for a period of basic political realignment in Japan...