Few leaders have made the prime minister as accessible as Keizo Obuchi did during his 20 months in office.

He cried at movies, poked fun at himself and made frequent and casual use of the phone -- a practice dubbed the "Buchi-phone" -- to call reporters and supporters.

But this easy accessibility was not developed overnight.

Obuchi's political style was formed by his long battle to win a piece of the electoral pie from powerful rivals in the same constituency in Gunma Prefecture -- former prime ministers Takeo Fukuda and Yasuhiro Nakasone.

Obuchi's chosen campaign style was to walk through rice paddies in long boots and visit individual homes in rural areas of the voting district.

Known as "good-natured Obuchi," it was second nature for him to ask for advice.

In response to criticism in January that he had formed too many "expert panels," Obuchi retorted, "I want to bring in opinions directly, from the bottom up. I intend to create 100 or 1,000 or 10,000 (such panels if necessary)."

This openness stood Obuchi in good stead as he formed a coalition government with the Liberal Party, an alliance that was later expanded to include New Komeito.

But political maneuvering based on keeping everybody happy all the time failed when it came to forming a single ultimate goal for the coalition government, critics said, opening up the coalition to criticism that it was simply getting by on the strength of its majority in the Diet.

Obuchi was the first to admit he was neither eloquent nor a man of ideas.

"I'm 'voca-poor'," he told supporters in September 1998, prior to his first visit to the U.S. after taking office. "My vocabulary is poor, so I can't find the right words."

Lacking trademark ideas or headline-grabbing policies, Obuchi did not hesitate to describe himself as "mediocre."

"I am a 'vacuum' prime minister, so we don't clash," Obuchi told reporters in June 1998 in response to a question on whether he and then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka disagree. "I don't have any ideas, so there's nothing to clash about."

Perhaps it was the fight against the label of mediocrity that brought out something superhuman in what critics and supporters alike saw as an "ordinary" man.

Combing through a flood of papers, books, newspaper clippings and videos without sleep became part of Obuchi's daily routine, his aides say.

Family members cleaning out the Prime Minister's Official Residence say the video tapes in his office filled seven large cardboard boxes.

"It's important to be optimistic and think something can be done," Obuchi said in January, during his policy address to the Diet. "What is important is not to complain, but to take that one step forward with confidence."