Keizo Obuchi

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said he came to Los Angeles for a reunion with an old flame, and he kept his commitment Thursday in Long Beach. Obuchi's first stop after landing at Los Angeles International airport was the Queen Mary, the ship that first brought him to the United States more than 35 years ago. He said the ship was his "love in Los Angeles." "When he saw that room his eyes lit up and he went to sit on the bed.

The brother of late Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi received an envelope containing an empty bullet cartridge, the second such envelope sent to a relative of the former leader this week. Mitsuhei Obuchi, 70, a mayor, received the envelope without a return address Monday at his home in Gunma prefecture, 60 miles north of Tokyo, a police spokesman said Friday on condition of anonymity. The mayor is the elder brother of Obuchi, who died May 14 after suffering a stroke.

Japan's bruising battle for a new leader gained momentum after a renegade Cabinet minister joined two veteran politicians in the contest to replace resigning Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. Junichiro Koizumi, the 55-year-old health and welfare minister who entered the race Saturday, is promising big tax cuts to boost the economy and a radical streamlining of government.

President Clinton paid his final respects to late Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi at a state funeral Thursday and met with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung in advance of next week's historic summit between leaders of the two Koreas. Aides say Clinton, who spent nine hours on the ground here, made the long trip out of friendship for Obuchi. The prime minister died May 14 after suffering a stroke in early April.

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi issued his country's most thorough apology to date to the South Korean people for 35 years of brutal colonial rule. A joint declaration made by Obuchi and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, who is visiting Tokyo, said Obuchi "expressed deep remorse and extended a heartfelt apology to the people of South Korea." It was the first written apology ever issued to an individual country by Japan for its actions up to, before and during World War II.

New Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi had a rough debut in parliament as opposition parties clamored for fresh elections and accused his Cabinet of being incapable of rescuing Japan's economy. "What qualifications and ability does this new Cabinet have? Without new policies, there will be no reforms. We must dissolve the parliament," lawmaker Kansei Nakano, a member of the country's largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, said as several lawmakers broke into applause.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi easily won reelection as head of his party, ensuring that Japan will continue public spending to spur economic recovery. He had pledged to pass a substantial economy-boosting package as soon as he won reelection. The head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party automatically becomes premier because the party controls the majority in parliament. Obuchi won 350 votes, about 70% of those cast in the three-way contest.

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi arrives in Los Angeles today, starting a state visit that will take him to Chicago and Washington, where he will meet with President Clinton. The main purpose of Obuchi's trip is geopolitical: He will discuss common defense questions with Clinton and reinforce the U.S.-Japan relationship at their meeting Monday. But Obuchi also will announce economic agreements in Washington, in which Japan and the U.S.

The brother of late Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi received an envelope containing an empty bullet cartridge, the second such envelope sent to a relative of the former leader this week. Mitsuhei Obuchi, 70, a mayor, received the envelope without a return address Monday at his home in Gunma prefecture, 60 miles north of Tokyo, a police spokesman said Friday on condition of anonymity. The mayor is the elder brother of Obuchi, who died May 14 after suffering a stroke.

As senior Japanese politicians attended the wake of former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, the ruling party faced criticism Monday over plans to hold a state funeral shortly before national elections next month. Newly elected Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto led a procession of solemn-faced dignitaries who gathered in an evening downpour to attend a vigil for Obuchi at a Tokyo funeral home.

As senior Japanese politicians attended the wake of former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, the ruling party faced criticism Monday over plans to hold a state funeral shortly before national elections next month. Newly elected Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto led a procession of solemn-faced dignitaries who gathered in an evening downpour to attend a vigil for Obuchi at a Tokyo funeral home.

The gray hearse carrying the body of Keizo Obuchi had barely left the hospital after his death late Sunday afternoon as speculation mounted about whether sympathy for the former prime minister could boost the fortunes of the troubled ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a June election.

Former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who defied skeptics by lasting far longer in Japan's highest office than anyone expected--in part by turning his lack of natural charm into a public asset--died Sunday, six weeks after suffering a massive stroke and subsequent brain damage. He was 62 and had been in a coma. "Together with the Japanese people, I express my deepest condolences," Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori told reporters.

When Japan's prime minister falls ill or dies, who's in charge? Whomever the prime minister himself decides to appoint--if indeed he still has the faculties to name anyone. And if he's not able, well, it's anyone's guess where the buck stops in the world's second-largest economy.

As Japan's leader lay comatose, parliament today voted hastily to approve Yoshiro Mori, 62, a Liberal Democratic Party warhorse, as the nation's 27th postwar prime minister. Mori won 335 of 488 votes cast in the vital lower house of parliament, with the support of the LDP's two coalition partners, the New Komei Party and the Conservative Party. He carried the upper house a short time later.

As Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi clung to life today, Yoshiro Mori, a 62-year-old stalwart of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, emerged as the man most likely to succeed him. Obuchi lay comatose and tethered to a respirator after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. Japanese officials acknowledged that it would be impossible for him to return to his post. Fearing a power vacuum, the LDP scrambled to agree on a successor.

Any hope that today's summit between President Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi might calm world markets and show the world's two economic gorillas heading in the same direction has been shattered by renewed infighting over Japan's vital bank bailout bill. The political deal was supposed to be the cornerstone of the summit and show that Japan was ready to fix its own economy, which in turn would support global financial recovery.

The contest for the top post in the world's No. 2 economy may come to a choice between bland and spicy. Keizo Obuchi, a leading candidate to become Japan's next prime minister, is an insider known as a consummate conciliator. Seiroku Kajiyama, the other favorite, is a far more colorful reformer whose aggressive, outspoken ways have earned him plenty of enemies.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in intensive care, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki has temporarily assumed his duties, Aoki announced today. Aoki gave scant details about Obuchi's medical condition, except to say that the 62-year-old Japanese leader had been conscious about 7 p.m. Sunday, when he was able to speak without difficulty and told Aoki to take over if he were unable to leave the hospital immediately.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi easily won reelection as head of his party, ensuring that Japan will continue public spending to spur economic recovery. He had pledged to pass a substantial economy-boosting package as soon as he won reelection. The head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party automatically becomes premier because the party controls the majority in parliament. Obuchi won 350 votes, about 70% of those cast in the three-way contest.