Aides Try to Show Obuchi Is Ready for Prime Time

TOKYO —  Can you turn a “dull ox” into a thoroughbred?

The new Japanese prime minister’s handlers certainly hope so. The image jockeys are working overtime to reshape the lackluster reputation of career politician Keizo Obuchi, who has been called everything from a beast of burden to cold pizza. A Japanese tabloid even compared him to goldfish excrement.

Indeed, in opinion polls last month, Obuchi ran dead last among rivals for the prime minister’s post. Voter popularity matters little here, however, because fellow politicians elect the prime minister.

But Obuchi’s handlers want Japan and the world to meet the real Obuchi. He’s smart, funny and willing to sacrifice himself on the altar of the Japanese economy, they say.

“He’s not a dull person that should not be leading this nation,” said Akitaka Saiki, his new liaison with the foreign press, at a briefing Friday. “He is a good conductor of the orchestra.”

In addition to hiring Saiki, his articulate, English-speaking former assistant at the Foreign Ministry, Obuchi has drafted a well-known, English-speaking financial guru, Toyoo Gyoten, to convince the financial markets that Obuchi means business. Such spin control might be the norm in Western countries, but in Tokyo it’s a foreign concept.

The handlers sought to turn Obuchi’s dismal ratings into an asset.

“His popularity is very low, which helps him because it’s very unlikely it will go down,” Saiki said.

And they related stories about his self-deprecating sense of humor, how he pointed out that even cold pizza can be reheated, and how he joked with colleagues that his future could include a demotion back to his old job as foreign minister.

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How does Obuchi feel about being branded a dullard?

“He enjoys it very much,” Saiki said. “He’s amused.”

That’s not to say he has not tried to pick up a few tips along the way. When former actor and newly elected Philippine President Joseph Estrada called to congratulate him, Obuchi asked him how he became so popular. According to a press spokeswoman relating the tale, Estrada offered little help with his reply: “I’m not a politician.”

The Japanese make-over artists have also revved up sports metaphors to emphasize the steep hurdles ahead.

Said Saiki: “Obuchi is like a relief pitcher coming in with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning maybe facing a tough batter that could hit a home run.” To which one wag shot back: “What’s the score?”

Another spokesman then apologized to a British reporter for not having a similar cricket analogy.

All the shellac in Tokyo won’t create a shine, however, if Obuchi can’t turn Japan’s anemic economy around.

Figures released Friday, his first full day in office, showed that Japanese unemployment rose to a 45-year high of 4.3%, up from 4.1%, the yen dropped to 144 yen against the dollar in London, down 1.3 yen, and Japan came under renewed U.S. pressure to do something and do it quickly.

“They can spin and spin all they want, but they’re still going to have trouble getting out of the mud,” said John Neuffer, senior fellow with Mitsui Marine Research Institute in Tokyo.

On Friday, President Clinton added his voice to a chorus of U.S. concerns about the Japanese economy.

“It is especially important for Asia and for our economy that the new Japanese government move forward quickly and effectively to strengthen its financial system and stimulate and open its economy,” Clinton said.

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Obuchi and his crew seem to be well aware of their tenuous grip on power.

The 61-year-old politician forcefully told a news conference that he will push for tax cuts, an economic stimulus package and bank reform. He’s also considering weekend trips across Japan to meet average Japanese.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to turn the economy around,” he said.

Obuchi said he and his new finance minister, Kiichi Miyazawa, might not emerge as heroes.

“Maybe some say it’s too late, but Miyazawa and I are sacrificing ourselves” to get Japanese policy back on track, he said.

Obuchi is committed to change and does not expect to stay in power very long, his handlers added.

But don’t underestimate him, they said.

As one member of the Obuchi team put it: “Once an ox is enraged, it can move very fast.”