Mr Obuchi has staked his career on turning the economy round within a year.
ECONOMIST: Praise Clinton and pass more bills to stir Japan��s economy
His father, who died when Obuchi was a student at Waseda University, was a politician.
That image was very much in evidence on a recent visit by Obuchi to Gunma.
The last of his lieutenants to be made prime minister were Ryutaro Hashimoto and Mr Obuchi.
Obuchi told doctors that he had awakened in the night feeling ill and tired.
These are all problems the tragically stricken Obuchi Keizo no longer has to worry about.
The meetings, which went ahead despite Obuchi's illness, were the first in nearly eight years.
Obuchi had been hospitalized due to "fatigue from overwork, " announced the chief cabinet secretary, Aoki Mikio.
The Buddhist-backed New Komeito's 24 upper-house seats would give Mr Obuchi the majority he needs.
However, an early election might be unavoidable, especially if Mr Obuchi's coalition were to split.
So Mr Obuchi may actually win some credit for putting the budget through the Diet.
Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo was unpopular and regarded as ineffectual when he took office last year.
LDP, Mr Obuchi's successor, Yoshiro Mori, won the job only after Mr Takeshita had given his approval.
Slumped in the backseat was Japan's prime minister, Obuchi Keizo, his wife Chizuko and a security guard.
Before Obuchi's illness, it was believed that the election would be called just after the G8 summit.
Apart from waiting until then to claim his glory, Mr Obuchi has another reason to hang on.
Mr Obuchi is known to have close personal contacts with the Einosuke Akiya, the Soka Gakkai's boss.
No one in Mr Obuchi's inner circle will admit publicly that there is even a need for it.
ECONOMIST: Praise Clinton and pass more bills to stir Japan��s economy
That has not stopped Mr Obuchi's rivals from airing their own views on what needs to be done.
ECONOMIST: Praise Clinton and pass more bills to stir Japan��s economy
But now the old manipulators have gone: Tanaka, Kanemaru, in disgrace in 1996, Obuchi, prematurely, and now Takeshita.
Tokyo says it will stay put at 4.3%, and Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo is promising to keep it there.
Despite the runaround initially given the public, once the extent of Obuchi's illness sunk in, the LDP moved quickly.
Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is scheduled to begin his visit in Moscow.
Three of them, including the new foreign minister, Keizo Obuchi, are accused of taking bribes from an Osaka-based oil trader.
Mr Kato was relegated to the sidelines by Mr Obuchi for having the temerity to challenge him for the leadership.
The Mori government is, for all practical purposes, an Obuchi government with only minor adjustments among cabinet and party offices.
Mr Obuchi is now paying the price for trying to drag such delicate issues of diplomacy into crass election politics.
Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo, concentrating on forming his new cabinet, was only informed a few hours after the accident began.
Japanese Prime Minister Mori Yoshiro lauded his late predecessor, Obuchi Keizo, last week at a memorial service studded with world leaders.
Now to Mori suddenly falls the difficult tasks of sustaining Japan's economic recovery and reforms, initiated in earnest during Obuchi's tenure.
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