Standing here, I cannot helprecallingseveralJapanesefriendsI know. TheyareMr. Noburu Takeshita, Mr. Toshiki Kaifu, Mr. Keizo Obuchi, Mr. Yoshiro Mori, Mr. YasuoFukuda and Mr. Yohei Kono.
Mori's only real rivals were Foreign Minister KonoYohei (who once was LDP party president when the party was out of power and so is the only LDP president never to be prime minister) and Kato Koichi, who heads the second-largest Diet faction.