Japan PM faces fresh blow:

Over finance chief's health

JAPAN: Japan's Prime Minister faced a fresh test of his troubled leadership Wednesday as his elderly Finance Minister looked set to step down due to poor health after just a few months in the job.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, struggling to reverse a slump in his popularity, reiterated that he hoped 77-year-old Hirohisa Fujii would stay at the helm of the world's number two economy.

As Fujii was behind the birth of the Government's budget plan, "I strongly wish that he will help it grow."

But he added: "We must take into consideration the doctor's judgement."

Some Japanese media reported late Tuesday that Hatoyama had reluctantly accepted a resignation offer by Fujii, who was admitted to hospital on December 28 suffering from high blood pressure and fatigue.

His illness is another setback for Hatoyama, who has been embroiled in a political funding scandal and has seen a sharp drop in his public approval ratings since he swept to power in September.

If Fujii were to resign, "criticism against Mr. Hatoyama would grow for picking a 77-year-old minister," said Masamichi Adachi, a senior economist at JPMorgan Chase.

But he added: "I don't expect drastic policy changes."

Fujii was picked by Hatoyama in September to steer Asia's biggest economy out of its worst recession in decades, returning to a post he held briefly in the early 1990s.

He is one of the few members of the current cabinet with previous government experience and would be hard to replace.

"It's preferable that people who know about budget drafting, including Minister Fujii, take care of it," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, the top government spokesman.

"If doctors said he is up to it, of course we would ask him to stay," he said.

But if they advise against it, Hatoyama "will make a final decision," Hirano added. AFP