The government of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori faces another political crisis after a furor over a controversial electoral-reform bill died down with the Diet passage of the legislation. The law introduces a new voting system in the proportional-representation section of Upper House polls.
The latest crisis stems from a diplomatic blunder committed by Mori and a scandal involving his No. 2 man, Hidenao Nakagawa, who was forced to resign as chief Cabinet secretary. Although its public-approval ratings dropped below the critical 20 percent level, the Mori Cabinet remains in power. Speculation is rampant that Mori will be forced to resign before the end of the year.
Foreign media are critical of Mori's latest gaffe, which occurred during his recent meeting in Seoul with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mori reportedly told Blair of his plan to solve the diplomatic row with North Korea over 10 Japanese allegedly abducted from Japan to North Korea by pretending they were found as "missing persons" in another country. The Economist magazine compared Mori to a puppet who cannot even read prepared texts.