Word: suzukis
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...hall. They tallied 974,150 mail-in votes by hand, then stuffed the ballots into green plastic baskets for a final scrutiny by election referees. Finally came the announcement that 58% of the members of the ruling Liberal-Democratic Party (L.D.P.) had picked Yasuhiro Nakasone, 64, to succeed Zenko Suzuki, 71, as their president. When, two days later, the choice was confirmed in a vote of Japan's Diet (parliament), where 421 L.D.P. members form a majority, Nakasone automatically became Prime Minister. Said Nakasone: "Confronted with the times, the nation expressed its need for strong leadership...
Nakasone's predecessor was never known for that quality. Suzuki, a compromise candidate chosen after the sudden death of Masayoshi Ohira in 1980, had developed an embarrassing reputation for indecision and incompetence. Although Nakasone (pronounced nock-ah-so-nay) will not deviate from the free-enterprise, pro-Western policies of his predecessors, he comes equipped with a solid understanding of defense and economics, two of the most pressing issues on his agenda. A seasoned administrator who has held five Cabinet posts over the past 23 years, Nakasone is, perhaps most important, a decisive and agile politician who knows what...
...Suzuki's efforts to restore vigor to the stalled Japanese economy backfired. His plan to end the practice of issuing government bonds to help finance the budget was abandoned after lagging exports and the world recession helped swell the 1982 deficit to $40.1 billion. At the same time, Suzuki's attempts to hold down spending stirred the wrath of the country's largest labor federation. Said a diplomat in Tokyo: "Suzuki simply couldn't deliver...
...considered to have the best chance of succeeding Suzuki is Yasuhiro Nakasone, 64, former head of the Defense Agency and present director general of the Administrative Management Agency. Two weeks ago Nakasone publicly committed his faction of the party to support Suzuki's reelection. Japanese observers speculate that Nakasone knew in advance that Suzuki was resigning and announced his support mainly to help win the blessing of Suzuki's major backer, former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka...
...week's end, Suzuki and party officials had failed to agree on a single candidate but still hoped to do so in the next few days. That would allow the party to avoid a national referendum, in which candidates must mount a costly campaign and expose party policies to public debate. Nevertheless, whoever becomes the new Prime Minister will inherit not only Suzuki's job, but most of the problems that he pledged to solve...