Party exploits Ohira’s death in election battle

Press, 14 June 1980, Page 8

Party exploits Ohira’s death in election battle

NZPA-Reuter Tokyo Campaigning for the Japanese General Election on June 22 resumed yesterday after the death on| Thursday of the Prime Minister, Masayoshi Ohira, with the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party digging for votes under a new slogan. “Victory in the elections 1 is the way to repay the i party president” said the: ■slogan in reference to Mr! I Ohira, who was president of| ■the governing Liberal Demo-; ; cratic Party as well as! (Prime Minister. i Liberal Demecratic leaders: land Opposition candidates! fanned out through the! country at dawn to press! home 'their arguments fori votes in the polls to replace; all 511 members of the! 'Lower House of Parliament! ! and half the 252 members of the less important Upper House. The Upper House poll had been scheduled. The Lower House election was called last month after dissident

members of the ruling party refused to support the Ohira i Government, toppling it in a ( no-confidence motion in Par- 1 liament. . I J The leaders of the anti- i Ohira factions in the vote, the former Prime Minister’s, ■ Takeo Mikie and Takeo Fu- < kuda, went to opposite ends!, of the country yesterday to : campaign. , Meanwhile, the Acting ; J Prime Minister (Mr Masa- , ■lyoshi'lto) told reporters that < ’ the party, which will chose • a new leader after the elec- j ;!tion, must unite in memory ( jof Mr Ohira, who died after ua heart attack. ;i The new Liberal Demo- , ;!cratic party chief will be;icome Prime Minister if the ■[party maintains its simple ■[majority in the House or if [ ‘lit loses the majority and has [ si to form a coalition with : Centrist parties. Political sources expect 1 that in the event of a coalil tion, the Liberal Democrats ri would first approach the! i[New Liberal Club and the, t 1 Democratic Socialist Party, t

Both parties — the New Liberals are a splinter group of the Liberal Democrats — have policies which are generally similar to the ruling party. The Liberal Democrats will chose a successor to Mr Ohira a few days after the election but he may only be given powers to remain in office as party president and Prime Minister until the end of what would have been Mr Ohira’s tenure in December. However the Liberal Democrats may decide to elect a full-fledged successor to Mr Ohira with authority to remain in office for the next two years. Under Liberal Democratic Party rules the party president is renewed every two years and Mr Ohira had been hoping to seek an extension when his term was up in December, Whatever the party decides, a tough battle is expected among aspirants hoping to take over the party land the country. I