Challenges for Japan’s Uno

The election of Foreign Minister Sosuke Uno as prime minister of Japan is clouded with uncertainty and misgivings, but there is encouragement in his commitment to address vigorously the corruption that swept Noboru Takeshita from the office.

Some of the uncertainty and all of the misgivings can be traced to the new premier’s close relationship with yet another former prime minister, Yasuhiro Nakasone, who has been directly linked to the scandal and the financial favors distributed by the giant Recruit Co. Two recipients of Recruit funds are included in Uno’s new cabinet

Uno was not the first choice of his party. Health factors and concern about the commitment of the ruling party to real reform forced the favorite to decline appointment. Nevertheless, Uno brings extraordinary experience to the post, with service as head of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the Defense Agency and the Science and Technology Agency as well as foreign minister.

He has emphasized his commitment to maintaining the close relationship with the United States that has existed since World War II. He also brings an informed toughness on the trade controversy now growing between the two nations. At the moment of his selection to succeed Takeshita, he was in Paris, leading a chorus of critics of the new U.S. trade retaliation threats before the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the principal agency linking the major free-market industrialized nations.

He will face an early test of his leadership with the July 23 elections to the upper house of the Japanese Parliament. With his Liberal Democrat party now receiving record low ratings in polls, he will have a difficult time producing the kind of election victory his party colleagues are demanding.