Uno Named Head of Japan Party; Will Replace Premier

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party overcame an attempted rebellion by young rebels today and chose Foreign Minister Sosuke Uno, 66, as its new party president.

Parliament was to elect him as prime minister this afternoon after Noboru Takeshita officially submits his resignation.

The change of the guard--precipitated by an 11-month series of revelations of a $7.7-million influence-buying scandal--was marred by six objections from the floor of a party caucus meeting. Each protested the party’s refusal to permit a formal vote.

The vast majority of the 341 party members of Parliament present, however, showed their approval for Uno by standing.

The young rebels Thursday decided to field Ganri Yamashita, 68, a former Defense Agency director, as a rival to Uno, but the party leaders refused to accept his candidacy.

Shizuka Kamei, head of the so-called Liberal Progressive Alliance, said the rebels asked Yamashita to run to protest Takeshita’s “secret-room” selection of Uno, a lieutenant of the party faction that was headed until Wednesday by former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.

Influence Scandal Grew

During Nakasone’s term as prime minister from 1982 to 1987, a $7.7-million influence-buying scandal grew, tainting Nakasone, Takeshita, and all other major leaders of the party.

Election rules for party conventions are spelled out, but there are no provisions for a vote between rivals in a caucus.

The uprising shattered party unity, which had been a hallmark of Takeshita’s 19 months in office. It also set the stage for demands for Uno’s resignation should he fail to lead the party to victory in a crucial upper house election July 23.

Criticism of Takeshita’s virtually single-handed choice of Uno erupted in meetings Thursday of party factions, the cores of power within the ruling party.

“I have never heard Uno utter a word about political reform,” complained former Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki, 78.

After returning from Paris, where he attended a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Uno pledged in a news conference that he would “carry out faithfully” reform plans already drawn up by the party. He also said he would give up his membership in the former Nakasone faction.

Made Courtesy Calls

Uno paid late-night courtesy calls on both Suzuki and former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, 84, who also had complained bitterly about selecting a Nakasone lieutenant.

Kenzaburo Hara, speaker of the lower house, cleared the way Thursday for Uno to be elected prime minister by resigning to accept responsibility for allowing the ruling party to ram the fiscal 1989 budget through the lower house in the midst of an opposition boycott. Four opposition parties had declared they would stay away from the election of a new prime minister in Parliament if Hara stayed on.

Uno was to form a new Cabinet after his election in Parliament.