Japan politics shaken by PM Hatoyama's resignation

TOKYO — The hasty departure of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama after only eight months in office could paralyze Japanese politics or force the creation of a new ruling coalition, analysts said Wednesday, with key elections looming and the battle over the future of a major U.S. military base still unresolved.

Hatoyama's Democratic Party, which will name a new chief Friday, moved quickly to keep Hatoyama's resignation from creating political chaos in the world's second-largest economy.

Several names emerged as possible candidates to succeed Hatoyama, including Finance Minister Naoto Kan, a seasoned progressive veteran with a relatively clean record, and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada. Kan said he intends to run.

"We cannot allow a vacuum to form," said Ichiro Ozawa, a co-founder of the Democrats who also announced his resignation Wednesday. "We will have a new leader by the end of the week, and a new administration by next week."

But analysts said Hatoyama leaves the party a thorny legacy.

Hatoyama said he would resign because of a funding scandal and his failure to keep a campaign promise to move Marine Corps Air Station Futenma off the southern island of Okinawa, a flip-flop that infuriated Okinawans and defined Hatoyama for many Japanese voters as a weak leader unable to stand up to Washington.

"He created a lot of distrust, both within Japan and in Washington," said Tomoaki Iwai, a professor of political science at Tokyo's Nihon University. "I think it was the base issue that brought him down, and the funding scandal sealed his fate."

Hatoyama acknowledged Wednesday he had lost the trust of the nation.

"The public has gradually stopped listening to me," he said.

His resignation comes just ahead of an election next month for half of the seats in parliament's upper house that could test its now fragile voter mandate.

Some analysts saw Hatoyama's resignation as a pre-emptive bid to help the party — his Cabinet has garnered so little support in public opinion polls recently that he is seen by many as an election liability. But if the party, an eclectic mix of progressives and former ruling party rebels, does poorly, Hatoyama's successor could have the same fate — creating further uncertainty.