Japan Government

Socialist party leader Tomiichi Murayama's election Wednesday as Japanese prime minister places new strains on U.S.-Japan trade relations and may derail Tokyo's efforts to carry out economic reforms.

Thirteen years ago, David Halberstam's "The Reckoning" explored the changing industrial fortunes of Japan and the United States through the rise of Nissan Motor Co. and the decline of Ford Motor Co. The book portrayed Nissan as a determined, customer-driven company that made U.S. inroads with high-quality, sporty cars. In contrast, Ford was depicted as a faltering, risk-averse concern run by accountants absorbed with profit and stock value rather than emotion-stirring vehicles.

For the first time in its 38-year history, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party failed to win a majority in the powerful lower house of Parliament in an election that creates a new political framework for Japan. The outcome in Sunday's election, however, was better than the ruling party feared a month ago when 48 of its representatives walked out to form alternative conservative parties. As for the leftist opposition, the results were far worse than it had hoped.

Under pressure to provide a strong jolt to a sluggish economy, the Japanese Cabinet on Friday adopted an $85-billion stimulus package, its largest program of public spending ever.

In a move that could worsen trade tensions and affect tens of millions of dollars in California exports, Japan on Thursday announced a sudden change in its rice policy aimed at further shielding inefficient farmers from outside competition. Midway through a seven-year global trade agreement, Japanese bureaucrats decided to switch to a tariff system that will effectively lower its rice imports by as much as 10% annually while setting the stage for a tax as high as 1,000%.

Ruling party officials eager to shore up their battered organization opened talks Thursday on a successor to resigning Japanese Prime Minister Sosuke Uno. Secretary General Ryutaro Hashimoto, the party's No. 2 official, appeared to have won the support of many party leaders, although some believe that at age 51 he is too young to take the job while the party is in crisis, one official said. The Liberal Democratic Party officials decided that a replacement should be picked Aug.

Until Emperor Hirohito's death, a taboo prohibited any discussion here of his role in World War II and his responsibility for it. Shinto rites that the emperor carried out as chief priest of the once-militaristic religion stirred little controversy, despite a clause in Japan's postwar constitution that mandates separation of religion and politics. His public appearances and occasional news conferences attracted minimal coverage in the media.

Seven women forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers in World War II received compensation from a private Japanese fund, officials said. They were the first South Korean former sex slaves to accept such payments. The victims were each given $17,000 and a letter of apology from Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.

Kiichi Miyazawa was elected Japan's 49th prime minister on Tuesday and appointed as his foreign minister an outspoken politician who has offended blacks, Chinese, women and others with his off-the-cuff remarks. Highlighting Miyazawa's 20 Cabinet selections, the appointment of Michio Watanabe, 68, to serve as Japan's face to the world raised some eyebrows on both sides of the Pacific.

In a dramatic reversal, Japan has agreed to halt the use of drift nets on the high seas, a practice that has indiscriminately killed thousands of marine mammals and sea birds and provoked an international outcry. By the end of 1992, the drift nets, which can stretch for miles and have been described by environmentalists as "curtains of death," will be banned entirely. The phase-out will begin Jan. 1.