Sato Elected As Japan's New P.M.

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30594, 10 November 1964, Page 17

Sato Elected As Japan's New P.M.

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright; TOKYO, November 9. Mr Eisaku Sato, the man who organised the preparations for this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games, was today elected Japan’s Prime Minister.

Mr Sato, who is 63, succeeds Mr Hayato Ikeda, who has resigned because of ill-health. He is expected to form his Cabinet by tomorrow. Mr Sato was nominated by the ruling Liberal-Democrat Party M.P.s at an extraordinary meeting of Parliament.

The vote in the Diet was 283 votes for Sato, 137 for the Socialist Party chairman, Jotaro Kawakami, 23 for Suehiro Nishi of the Democratic Socialist Party, and four for Sanzo Nosaka, a member of the Communist Party. Mr Sato, like Mr Ikeda the son of a sake (rice-wine) brewer, resigned as Minister of State in charge of the Olympics to challenge Ikeda for the party presidency and

the Premiership last July. He complained of lack of independence in foreign policy. In July he said that if elected he would go to Washington to press President Johnson for the return of the Ryuku Islands, which include Okinawa. He said he would also consider flying to Moscow to demand the return of the Kurile Islands, occupied by the Soviet Union in the closing days of the Pacific war and still held under the Japan-Soviet declaration restoring diplomatic relations. Japan's Economy

He also accused Mr Ikeda of creating “poverty within prosperity” by pushing ahead with his plan to double the national income within 10 years regardless of the economic distress of lower wage earners left behind by spiralling prices. Mr Sato is regarded as a moderate Conservative who is expected to maintain Japan’s close ties with the Western world, including the United States. But he has criticised Mr Ikeda in the past for failing to put “backbone” into his foreign policy and political observers expected him to pursue a more independent and vigorous path in international affairs, especially in Asia.

While preserving the American - Japan security treaty and continuing Japan’s close political association with Washington, Mr Sato is also expected to foster relations with Peking, especially over trade, short of diplomatic recognition of the Communist Government.

Business circles today welcomed Mr Sato’s nomination. They said they expected him to give top priority to the economy which has recently been showing signs of strain, including the failure of an unprecedentedly high number of smaller businesses, the con-

sequences of a tight money policy, and the current stock market recession. A law graduate of Tokyo University, Mr Sato first gained attention in 1948 when Premier Shigeru Yoshido chose him as Cabinet secretary. Mr Sato also served in his brother’s Cabinet as Finance Minister and chief troubleshooter among business interests. Mr Sato speaks English and German and has travelled widely. He visited the United States two years ago and met the late President Kennedy. Gifted with a rich baritone voice, Mr Sato occasionally entertains friends with a song. He also likes to play golf, hunt and fish. He is married and the father of two sons.