Keizo Obuchi, the new Liberal Democratic Party president who is certain to become prime minister next week, is known for a low-key, consensus-oriented political style that has earned him few enemies.
This style was inherited from his mentor, former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, who was known for his patient, behind-the-scenes maneuvering and to whom Obuchi was known to be a close aide.
Takeshita once headed a powerful faction that literally dominated the LDP and whose members included Ryutaro Hashimoto, Seiroku Kajiyama, Ichiro Ozawa and Tsutomu Hata.