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Mori faces new blow to leadership


Japan's embattled Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori faces a new threat to his leadership

TOKYO, Japan -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori faces a new threat to his post after a report that a heavyweight in his party could face bribery charges.

Prosecutors are looking into allegations that Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Masakuni Murakami accepted bribes from small business insurer KSD, the daily Asahi Shimbun newspaper said.

Murakami's staff declined to comment, saying the veteran lawmaker will tell all in parliament on February 28.

The disgraced official resigned last month as head of LDP in the Upper House over his ties to KSD, a scandal that once appeared to be Mori's biggest headache.

The issue has been compared to the Recruit 1988-1989 shares-for-favors scandal that cost then Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita his job.

But the scandal has been overshadowed by outrage over Mori's decision to keep playing golf after learning that a U.S. nuclear submarine had hit and sunk a Japanese fisheries training ship carrying high school students.

The accident left nine people missing, now presumed dead.

NO CONFIDENCE

At present, Mori is struggling to cling to his post amid calls for his resignation.

Speculation is rife that lawmakers in Mori's three-way ruling coalition will force him to step down as early as next month, to improve their chances in the upcoming election in July.

Pressure is also growing from the opposition, who agreed on Wednesday to demand the immediate resignation of the Mori cabinet along with changes to the 2001/02 budget bill.

Even the New Komeito Party -- the number two partner in the ruling alliance, has also increased its pressure on Mori to resign, fearing Mori will led them to electoral defeat.

The ruling coalition did not decide when they would submit a no-confidence motion against Mori. But new Komeito chief Takenori Kanzaki said on Wednesday his party would not back a no-confidence motion if it were presented before the budget's enactment was ensured.

Quick-end sought

Leaders in the ruling camp have placed emphasis on passing the budget for next fiscal year, a move analysts say could clear the way for Mori to resign.

The powerful Lower House is expected to pass the budget on March 2.

But Mori's spokesman Kazuhiko Koshikawa said, "The prime minister is not going to resign. He is determined to see the early passage of the budget for the next fiscal year (from April 1)."

Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori decided to delay a visit to Washington, as it would conflict with the expected passage of next year's budget.

"How would I be able to leave (the country) when we must do everything to have the budget pass?" Mori said.

Mori was supposed to make a trip to the U.S. early March in an effort to repair relations after a U.S. submarine sank a Japanese training trawler.

'Extremely Regrettable'

On Thursday, Mori said it was "extremely regrettable" if reports were true that civilian guests disturbed the operations of a crew member tracking sonar points in the USS Greeneville.

Mr. Mori made the comment in response to the revelation by the US National Transpiration Safety Board that a crewmember's work was disrupted because the control room of the submarine was so crowded.

But he also said: "We should not rush to conclusions." Adding that "It is very natural for us at this moment that we urge the United States to keep up with efforts to conduct a thorough investigation."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said that if the reports are proven true and have led to the accident, "the Japanese government would have to take the appropriate measures for that."

However, Fukuda added "we have to wait for the final results as to the cause of this accident. And we have to keep on strongly urging the US side to conduct a thorough investigation on this accident."

The court of inquiry will be held on February 26..

Strained ties

Ties between the two allies have been strained by Japanese anger at America's sinking of the training vessel Ehime Maru, and by a series of incidents involving U.S. military forces on Japan's southern Okinawa Island.

The Okinawa city assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution demanding a reduction of U.S. forces stationed in the area, as well as revision of a key pact concerning the status of U.S. forces in Japan.

A U.S. Marine based on Okinawa was indicted last week on charges of setting fire to several local restaurants.

Earlier this month the chief of the U.S. forces on the island sparked outrage when he referred to his hosts as "nuts and wimps" in an internal e-mail leaked to the media.

Tokyo Bureau Chief Marina Kamimura, The Reuters contributed to this report.