Disenchantment with Tanaka

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33121, 11 January 1973, Page 9

Disenchantment with Tanaka

• (N.Z.P.A. Staff Correspondent.) TOKYO. Jan. 10. The political honeymoon has ended for Mr Kakuei Tanaka, who only three months ago was rated as Japan’s most popular Prime Minister since the Second World War. There has since been a noticeable cooling of public sentiment towards Mr Tanaka, whose humble background once encouraged predictions he would be "a Prime Minister of the people.” When he took office six

months ago. he was hailed as; the answer to Japan’s problems. Today many people! .'express disappointment in ..him. Mr Tanaka and his iambitious programme to re- ’ model Japan with new high-: i(way construction and decen-j .! tralisation of industry are' 'blamed for soaring land; prices and living costs. 11 Japan’s largest newspaper. !the “Asahi Shimbun.” comments that “No Japanese i Cabinet has experienced such: : a wide change in popular ' support and reaction during ■lthe first half year in power| •las that of our present Prime! i 'Minister.” S' Mr Tanaka called a General Election in December, only, : to have his Liberal-Demo- 1

! cratic Party’s majority drop ’from 297 to 284 in the Lower! House of the Diet, which has 1 491 seats; and party leaders fear that the dissatisfaction. 1 i if it continues, could cost' ;them their majority in the elections next year for the; Upper House, in which they 'now have 136 of the 252 seats. His critics complain that . Mr Tanaka has fallen into the’, same pattern of bureaucracy: land inactivity as was established by his predecessor, Mr lEisaku Sato, and that he is" (dragging his feet on political,' (economic. and social legislation. Much of the criticism ongi-1 ,nates in the Japanese press, 'which has great influence on

;the people: it was the press ithat put pressure on Mr Sato to resign before the expiration of his term, and fired 'the euphoria, last autumn, 'over ,Mr Tanaka’s swift accord with China. ; Mr Tanaka returned from Peking a hero last September, but some critics now question whether he deserves all the credit for opening 'government - to - government (ties with the Chinese. They 'suggest that it was not Mr Tanaka, the individual, but the circumstances, that improved relations with China, and that any successor to Mr Sato could have brought that about.