Word: ohira
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Carter then flew on to Tokyo, a 14,740-mile, two-day trip that was primarily a symbolic gesture of amity toward an ally, Japan, and a new friend, the People's Republic of China. The occasion was a memorial service for Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira, who had died June 12, shortly before his Liberal Democratic Party swept to a resounding election victory. Among the dignitaries attending was Chinese Premier Hua Guofeng, whom Carter was eager to meet...
...honor Ohira, Carter sat through a two-hour service in the Budokan, a martial-arts hall redecorated for the occasion. Premier Hua, dressed in a gray Mao jacket, was in the front row and, although the two men did not meet, they looked firmly at each other, as though each was taking the other's measure...
...Ohira had been forced to call elections in May after losing a confidence motion in the lower house that even its opposition sponsors had not expected to win. The campaign took place in an atmosphere of growing crisis. Voters were worried not only by energy (Japan, which supported U.S. sanctions against Iran, once got 11% of its oil from that country) but also by Moscow's invasion of Afghanistan and its military buildup on the Soviet-occupied Kurile Islands, which are only 65 miles from the northeastern coast of Hokkaido. Faced with these uncertainties, the voters clearly decided that...
Unfortunately, one predictable aspect of the Liberal Democratic Party is fractious infighting. Although Ohira's death unified the party's dissident factions for the elections-appealing for unity, some candidates played Ohira's last campaign speech over loudspeakers in the streets -the quarrels will surface again as the party picks its new leader. A chairman must be chosen before the new Diet meets on July 17 for a special session...
...leading candidate to succeed Ohira is former Trade Minister Toshio Komoto, 69, a sharp, urbane industrialist who made a fortune in shipping and who has support from the business sector. Komoto, however, is an unknown quantity as party leader and is opposed by Tanaka's faction for having supported an investigation of the former Prime Minister's links to the Lockheed scandal (Tanaka resigned before being indicted for taking a $2 million bribe). Another candidate, Yasuhiro Nakasone, 62, has served as secretary general of the party and in various Cabinet posts, including that of Defense Minister. Some...