[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010
Kan succeeds Fujii as finance minister
Ozawa said to have approved of Hatoyama's choice
Compiled from Kyodo, AP
Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan will be the next finance minister, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday after accepting the resignation of Hirohisa Fujii due to his poor health.
Hatoyama told reporters that Kan, 63, accepted his offer of the new post. Hatoyama also said the latest personnel matters were also approved by Ichiro Ozawa, the powerful secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
"Problems of health are inevitable," Hatoyama said, adding that he had received a doctor's report. "And so I have accepted his resignation."
Fujii, 77, who has a history of high blood pressure, spent several tough weeks late last year churning out a record 92.30 trillion budget. The government is also trying to pass a ¥7.2 trillion stimulus package.
He checked into a hospital on Dec. 28 for checkups and to get some rest. Fujii has stayed under the care of doctors at a Tokyo hospital but leaves to visit his offices during the day.
Hatoyama has said that passing the budget is his priority this year. It cuts spending on public works but includes large expenditures on social programs like child support and making tuition at public high schools free.
With Kan's appointment, Yoshito Sengoku, state minister in charge of administrative reform, will concurrently serve as state minister for national strategy, the post currently taken up by Kan.
Hatoyama said he has no plans to pick any new Cabinet member for the time being.
Although the prime minister had initially wanted to retain Fujii, his exit became inevitable due to his firm determination to quit. The resignation is the first for this Cabinet, formed in September.
Kan was among the candidates speculated as Fujii's successor, along with Sengoku, Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and some more marginal figures. But political analysis and economists weren't excited by any of the names floated.
Kan cofounded the DPJ in 1998 and has led the party twice.
The activist-turned-lawmaker, known for his debating skills, symbolizes the ruling party's efforts to stop bureaucratic meddling in politics.
Kan, also strategy minister, spearheads the National Policy Unit that Hatoyama's Cabinet created upon its inauguration last September to wrest control over policy formulation from the powerful bureaucracy.
Kan shot to fame when he was health and welfare minister in 1996, battling bureaucrats over a scandal related to HIV-tainted blood products involving the then Health and Welfare Ministry and a pharmaceutical firm.
He was then a key member of the multiparty coalition headed by the Liberal Democratic Party after its brief fall from power in 1993.
Kan formed the DPJ in April 1998 with other lawmakers opposed to the LDP and served as the party's first leader until September 1999.
He was elected party leader again in December 2002 but stepped down in May 2004 after coming under fire for having failed to pay pension premiums in the past.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010
Clash with Ozawa said behind resignation
By JUN HONGO and ALEX MARTIN
Staff writers
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii's resignation Wednesday is a cause of serious concern for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet, experts said, noting discord with ruling party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa may have influenced the veteran lawmaker's decision to exit.
"In reality, this is about Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General (Ichiro) Ozawa," said Masaru Takagi, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, pointing out that Fujii and Ozawa — regarded as the most powerful man in the ruling coalition — had been on bad terms recently.
Takagi said that rather than health concerns, the discord between Fujii and the Cabinet's so-called shadow shogun was the main factor that prompted Fujii to resign.
Fujii, who was admitted to hospital last week for exhaustion, told Hatoyama on Tuesday that he may not be able to handle his tasks during the ordinary Diet session, which begins later this month.
Although Hatoyama had initially said a decision would not be made until Fujii's health check results were in, he found it hard to retain the 77-year-old veteran whose health concerns made headlines.
Fujii's exit comes just days after Hatoyama said passing the fiscal 2010 budget and averting a double-dip recession are the government's priorities heading into 2010.
Ozawa and Fujii had shared close ties earlier in their careers, but their falling out became evident when Fujii openly criticized Ozawa over his political funds scandal that broke in 2009, urging Ozawa to step down as DPJ president.
Ozawa, often referred to as the puppet master of the Cabinet, retaliated by reportedly showing hesitation at having Fujii named finance minister.
"Fujii called on Ozawa to resign as DPJ chief and their relationship has been complicated ever since," Takagi said.
When campaigning for the August general election, the DPJ promised to end surcharges on road-related taxes that amount to about 2.5 trillion in revenue every year. But Ozawa pressed Hatoyama to backpedal on this pledge.
Although Fujii called the political pledge "an extremely large theme of the (campaign platform) manifesto," Hatoyama heeded Ozawa and announced in December that the surcharges would remain.
As reporters watched, Ozawa openly criticized the budget draft compiled under Fujii's initiative last month.
"It's obvious to anyone's eyes that this has more to do with Fujii's relationship with Ozawa than his health," Keio University professor Yoshiaki Kobayashi explained.
The Cabinet is seeking to pass the second supplementary budget this month and quickly move on to engaging in the 2010 fiscal budget hearings in hopes of passing that bill by the end of March.
Hatoyama wanted Fujii to stay on, telling reporters earlier Wednesday the veteran designed the nuts and bolts of the 2010 fiscal budget plan.
Fujii had been expected to play a key role in answering questions over the budget once the Diet opens.
"He gave birth to the budget plan, and I strongly hope he will develop it," Hatoyama said.
But Fujii's resolve to quit was unshakable, prompting Hatoyama to start unofficially looking for a successor.
Hatoyama appointed Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan to take over Fujii's post.
Before Kan's appointment was announced, analysts and government officials were equally uncertain of who would be the best fit for the position.
Earlier Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano dodged the successor issue and only acknowledged that the issue should not affect the finance market regardless of the outcome.
Meiji University's Takagi said, "Kan is of course talented, but he's the deputy prime minister as well as the state minister in charge of national strategy. For him to handle the position of finance minister is impossible."
With Kan's appointment, Yoshito Sengoku, state minister in charge of administrative reform, will concurrently serve as state minister for national strategy, a post Kan holds at present.
Before Kan was named, Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda was also seen as a good candidate, since he was deeply involved in designing the fiscal 2010 budget plan.
But Takagi said Noda's cool relations with Ozawa could force him to face similar difficulties as Fujii if he had assumed the position.
Keio's Kobayashi said juggling the job of finance minister while being on good terms with the party was something only veterans could handle.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010
Kan succeeds Fujii as finance minister
Ozawa said to have approved of Hatoyama's choice
Compiled from Kyodo, AP
Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan will be the next finance minister, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday after accepting the resignation of Hirohisa Fujii due to his poor health.
Hatoyama told reporters that Kan, 63, accepted his offer of the new post. Hatoyama also said the latest personnel matters were also approved by Ichiro Ozawa, the powerful secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
"Problems of health are inevitable," Hatoyama said, adding that he had received a doctor's report. "And so I have accepted his resignation."
Fujii, 77, who has a history of high blood pressure, spent several tough weeks late last year churning out a record 92.30 trillion budget. The government is also trying to pass a ¥7.2 trillion stimulus package.
He checked into a hospital on Dec. 28 for checkups and to get some rest. Fujii has stayed under the care of doctors at a Tokyo hospital but leaves to visit his offices during the day.
Hatoyama has said that passing the budget is his priority this year. It cuts spending on public works but includes large expenditures on social programs like child support and making tuition at public high schools free.
With Kan's appointment, Yoshito Sengoku, state minister in charge of administrative reform, will concurrently serve as state minister for national strategy, the post currently taken up by Kan.
Hatoyama said he has no plans to pick any new Cabinet member for the time being.
Although the prime minister had initially wanted to retain Fujii, his exit became inevitable due to his firm determination to quit. The resignation is the first for this Cabinet, formed in September.
Kan was among the candidates speculated as Fujii's successor, along with Sengoku, Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and some more marginal figures. But political analysis and economists weren't excited by any of the names floated.
Kan cofounded the DPJ in 1998 and has led the party twice.
The activist-turned-lawmaker, known for his debating skills, symbolizes the ruling party's efforts to stop bureaucratic meddling in politics.
Kan, also strategy minister, spearheads the National Policy Unit that Hatoyama's Cabinet created upon its inauguration last September to wrest control over policy formulation from the powerful bureaucracy.
Kan shot to fame when he was health and welfare minister in 1996, battling bureaucrats over a scandal related to HIV-tainted blood products involving the then Health and Welfare Ministry and a pharmaceutical firm.
He was then a key member of the multiparty coalition headed by the Liberal Democratic Party after its brief fall from power in 1993.
Kan formed the DPJ in April 1998 with other lawmakers opposed to the LDP and served as the party's first leader until September 1999.
He was elected party leader again in December 2002 but stepped down in May 2004 after coming under fire for having failed to pay pension premiums in the past.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010
Clash with Ozawa said behind resignation
By JUN HONGO and ALEX MARTIN
Staff writers
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii's resignation Wednesday is a cause of serious concern for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet, experts said, noting discord with ruling party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa may have influenced the veteran lawmaker's decision to exit.
"In reality, this is about Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General (Ichiro) Ozawa," said Masaru Takagi, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, pointing out that Fujii and Ozawa — regarded as the most powerful man in the ruling coalition — had been on bad terms recently.
Takagi said that rather than health concerns, the discord between Fujii and the Cabinet's so-called shadow shogun was the main factor that prompted Fujii to resign.
Fujii, who was admitted to hospital last week for exhaustion, told Hatoyama on Tuesday that he may not be able to handle his tasks during the ordinary Diet session, which begins later this month.
Although Hatoyama had initially said a decision would not be made until Fujii's health check results were in, he found it hard to retain the 77-year-old veteran whose health concerns made headlines.
Fujii's exit comes just days after Hatoyama said passing the fiscal 2010 budget and averting a double-dip recession are the government's priorities heading into 2010.
Ozawa and Fujii had shared close ties earlier in their careers, but their falling out became evident when Fujii openly criticized Ozawa over his political funds scandal that broke in 2009, urging Ozawa to step down as DPJ president.
Ozawa, often referred to as the puppet master of the Cabinet, retaliated by reportedly showing hesitation at having Fujii named finance minister.
"Fujii called on Ozawa to resign as DPJ chief and their relationship has been complicated ever since," Takagi said.
When campaigning for the August general election, the DPJ promised to end surcharges on road-related taxes that amount to about 2.5 trillion in revenue every year. But Ozawa pressed Hatoyama to backpedal on this pledge.
Although Fujii called the political pledge "an extremely large theme of the (campaign platform) manifesto," Hatoyama heeded Ozawa and announced in December that the surcharges would remain.
As reporters watched, Ozawa openly criticized the budget draft compiled under Fujii's initiative last month.
"It's obvious to anyone's eyes that this has more to do with Fujii's relationship with Ozawa than his health," Keio University professor Yoshiaki Kobayashi explained.
The Cabinet is seeking to pass the second supplementary budget this month and quickly move on to engaging in the 2010 fiscal budget hearings in hopes of passing that bill by the end of March.
Hatoyama wanted Fujii to stay on, telling reporters earlier Wednesday the veteran designed the nuts and bolts of the 2010 fiscal budget plan.
Fujii had been expected to play a key role in answering questions over the budget once the Diet opens.
"He gave birth to the budget plan, and I strongly hope he will develop it," Hatoyama said.
But Fujii's resolve to quit was unshakable, prompting Hatoyama to start unofficially looking for a successor.
Hatoyama appointed Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan to take over Fujii's post.
Before Kan's appointment was announced, analysts and government officials were equally uncertain of who would be the best fit for the position.
Earlier Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano dodged the successor issue and only acknowledged that the issue should not affect the finance market regardless of the outcome.
Meiji University's Takagi said, "Kan is of course talented, but he's the deputy prime minister as well as the state minister in charge of national strategy. For him to handle the position of finance minister is impossible."
With Kan's appointment, Yoshito Sengoku, state minister in charge of administrative reform, will concurrently serve as state minister for national strategy, a post Kan holds at present.
Before Kan was named, Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda was also seen as a good candidate, since he was deeply involved in designing the fiscal 2010 budget plan.
But Takagi said Noda's cool relations with Ozawa could force him to face similar difficulties as Fujii if he had assumed the position.
Keio's Kobayashi said juggling the job of finance minister while being on good terms with the party was something only veterans could handle.
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