TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Tuesday rejected a ruling party rival's efforts to oust him and vowed to stay in his job, as cabinet ministers warned that a political vacuum could hurt the economy.
But reformist challenger Koichi Kato vowed to battle on, saying a change at the top would be the best medicine for Japan's economy as it struggles to recover from a decade of stagnation.
Kato's challenge has prompted speculation that Mori's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) the biggest partner in the ruling coalition could split as it did seven years ago when the party was briefly booted out of power. But he stressed on Tuesday that he did not intend to leave the long dominant party.
Mori, one of Japan's most unpopular premiers in years, told Parliament he was committed to carrying out his official duties.
"I will do my best to pass key bills in Parliament. I have no intention of asking cabinet members to resign," he said, stressing that his priority was to ensure a full economic recovery with the help of an extra budget now under deliberation.
Kato, who has set off a power struggle in the LDP by saying he might vote for a no-confidence motion against Mori, has been a vocal critic of the prime minister's reliance on pump-priming funded by a ballooning public debt to support the economy.
Party elders backing Mori, whose public support is sinking fast according to an opinion poll on Monday, have scrambled to calm the situation. The LDP's partners in the ruling coalition have urged the party to settle its internal feud quickly.
Ministers Rally Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, himself deposed seven years ago as prime minister and the grand old man of Kato's 45-member LDP faction, said now was not the time for a political vacuum.
"The economy is currently passing the baton to private demand, with the situation delicate and critical," he told Parliament.
"I have told Kato that it's not good to create a political vacuum under such conditions. I have not changed my mind on that." If party power brokers want to retain Mori, they must ensure that Kato does not convince his faction and the 19 supporters in the faction led by a longtime ally to support the no-confidence motion planned by the opposition parties for latter this month.
Kato appears to be hoping for support from LDP lawmakers angry over the Lower House election setback suffered under Mori's lead in June and worried about a rerun in Upper House polls next July unless the party ditches the premier.
Miyazawa has tried to play down the rift, saying there was still room for Kato to have his views heard within the LDP.
"If he were to ask the party to listen him, I think everyone would," Miyazawa told a morning news conference.
Only Me Kato reiterated that he has no intention of leaving the LDP, but said only a change in policies could revive the economy.
"Those who are saving most are people in their 20s and 30s," he said in a radio interview. "If we don't create a society in which the young generation has hope for the future, the economy won't improve.
"Only I can change Japan," he said.
He declined to specify what his next move would be, saying the priority was to enact key legislation now pending in Parliament.
The current session ends on December 1.
"As for what path to follow, I want to consult with my friends," he said.
Kato is pushing a policy platform of deregulation and fiscal reform that puts him in many ways closer to the main opposition Democratic Party and analysts say one of his options would be to join hands with the Democrats to oust Mori.
As a result of numerous pump-priming measures to try to propel Japan out of a decade of economic downturn, Japan is saddled with more debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) than any other industrialized nation.
Mori's public support ratings are also likely to play a key role in deciding his fate. Those figures have already dipped below 20 percent, a level that in the past has twice spelled the end of a cabinet within a matter of months.
If a no-confidence measure passes, and this requires a simple majority in the 480-seat Lower House, Mori must either resign or dissolve Parliament and call a general election.
(Reuter)