Chief Cabinet Secretary

In a move that could spell more trouble for beleaguered Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, the top lieutenant in his ruling party resigned today. Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiromu Nonaka, the eminence grise of the long-dominant party, told reporters that he had met with Mori and tendered his resignation, which Mori had accepted.

Japan plans to issue a visa for a visit this year by former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, a government spokesman said Thursday, a decision that could further fray Tokyo's relations with China. Beijing insists that Taiwan is part of its territory, and opposes any contact between the island's government and other countries -- even visits by former Taiwanese leaders -- that might imply the island is an independent country.

Emperor Akihito wants Japanese to contribute to charity or the environment rather than sending him coronation gifts, and no gifts will be accepted from non-Japanese, officials said today. Only certain Japanese can send gifts, and the type of item also is limited, they added. Akihito, 56, who became emperor in January, 1989, upon the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito, is to be formally enthroned Nov. 12. The ceremony had to await the end of a yearlong formal mourning period.

A government plan to deploy soldiers overseas for the first time since World War II was introduced Tuesday in Parliament but came under immediate attack from opposition parties that could block its passage. The proposal calls for a noncombat force of civilians and soldiers to participate behind the lines in international Persian Gulf operations based on U.N. resolutions.

President Bush appealed to Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama on Monday to provide more help for the United States in the Persian Gulf, but Nakayama offered no new financial commitments beyond Japan's pledge last fall of nearly $2 billion. During a half-hour meeting at the White House, the President "strongly urged Japan to provide the maximum cooperation possible," according to a statement by White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater.

The Japanese government said Tuesday that it will give hunger-stricken North Korea 100,000 tons of rice and will reopen talks on normalizing relations. Tokyo is restarting talks with the Communist regime in North Korea because diplomatic ties are essential for stability across the region, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki said. Officials will hold the first round of talks in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, the second in Tokyo, and the third in Beijing or another country, Aoki said.

Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa's resignation "is highly possible," Hosokawa's chief personal adviser said Tuesday. "The prime minister is not the type of person who seeks to cling to a position," Shusei Tanaka said. "He has made it his principle to live up to his promises." Tanaka was referring to Hosokawa's pledge when he took office in August to "assume responsibility" if he failed to enact political reforms.

Koken Nosaka, 79, a former top government spokesman under Japan's first Socialist prime minister since 1948, died Sunday in Tokyo of pneumonia and kidney failure.

Prime Minister Sosuke Uno, who has had his own campaign problems with women, today scolded two Cabinet ministers for harming public trust in politics after one called women "useless" in politics and the other kindled fears of higher taxes. Chief Cabinet Secretary Masajuro Shiokawa told reporters that Uno admonished Hisao Horinouchi, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and Shigenobu Sakano, the home affairs minister.

Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu handed a key Cabinet job to a woman today, hours after its holder resigned in a flap over an extramarital affair. Mayumi Moriyama, 61, director-general of the Environment Agency, was named to replace Tokuo Yamashita, 69, as chief Cabinet secretary, a highly visible post that includes speaking on behalf of the government and coordinating Cabinet affairs. She is the first woman ever to hold the post.