Word: mori
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Mori's physical dynamism contrasted sharply with the dour frailty of his predecessor, who lay in a coma last week after a massive stroke. But the L.D.P. secretary-general was picked for the top post mainly because of his skills as a fixer in the back rooms of Japanese politics, where real decision making takes place. What his faction-riddled party needs most in these turbulent times--as the country faces a devastating volcanic eruption in the north, economic stagnation and a crisis of confidence--is someone who can hold things together...
...Mori's first task will be to restore the public's faith in the government, which was badly shaken by the bumbling and deceitful handling of his predecessor's health emergency. It took 34 hours for Obuchi aide Mikio Aoki, who briefly stepped in as interim leader, to reveal the full extent of the Prime Minister's illness. Whether Mori can inspire trust and move the country along the path of badly needed financial and economic reforms remains to be seen. His 31-year career as a party apparatchik and former Education Minister and Trade Minister provides no evidence...
Perhaps. But what he has most conspicuously arranged in the past has been pork-barrel projects for his home region in western Japan, including an unnecessary $14 billion bullet-train route. Mori made it clear last week that he will continue the profligate spending of his predecessor, who during his brief, 20-month tenure doled out more than $300 billion for government projects, making him Japan's all-time biggest spendthrift. Don't count on Mori to close the spigot. Government spending "has a natural impact on the economy," he said last week. "Right now the economy is slowly recovering...
...market is booming, companies are restructuring, dotcom fever is starting to catch on. But the economy slid back into a recession last year and unemployment, once unheard of, is at an all-time high of 4.9%. Rather than pushing for the serious structural reforms that the country desperately needs, Mori is likely to offer more government largesse in order to beef up his popularity during the run-up to the parliamentary elections that must be held by October...
Even as the comatose Obuchi remains hooked up to life-support systems, he may turn out to be the most prominent figure in the upcoming campaign. Mori and his party colleagues can be expected to play shamelessly on the stricken leader's image to generate a sympathy vote while making critics of the Obuchi government's record look insensitive. In his first press conference last week, Mori repeatedly invoked the name of his longtime friend and former Waseda University classmate. "I feel like I can hear the voice of Prime Minister Obuchi from his bed, saying 'I trust...