Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori faces an uncertain future after surviving a no-confidence motion against his Cabinet in the Diet last month. Koichi Kato, a leading dissident in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and fellow rebels had vowed to vote for the opposition-sponsored motion, but they changed their minds at the last minute in the face of threats by LDP leaders to expel them from the party. The motion was defeated when the rebels abstained.
As Mori reshuffled his Cabinet last week, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party -- the LDP's coalition partners -- moved to distance themselves from the unpopular prime minister. Furthermore, an LDP group led by former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto is reportedly agitating for Mori's replacement. The moves emerged after power broker Hiromu Nonaka resigned as LDP secretary general. Hashimoto is now special minister in charge of administrative reform and Okinawan affairs in the Cabinet. The political situation is extremely volatile.
The United States is also plagued by utter confusion over its presidential election. The political chaos in Japan and the U.S. has dented the reputations of the world's leading powers. The confusion reflects the fact that politics in both countries centers on domestic issues.