TOKYO — In his first policy speech before parliament, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori vowed Friday to continue and expand the economic and structural reforms started by his predecessor, Keizo Obuchi, who is in a coma after suffering a massive stroke on Sunday.
"In the wake of Mr. Obuchi's illness, I was unexpectedly appointed as prime minister," Mori said. "I believe it is God's will that I succeed Obuchi, and I will carry forward his policy aspirations and strive to develop them further."
Mori, who took the reins of government on Wednesday, described a variety of broad policies that he said would bring about a "rebirth of Japan," which is struggling to overcome a stubborn recession, record unemployment and widespread corruption.
The prime minister said he was willing to undertake the often painful reforms necessary to revive the economy and create new jobs. "I intend to do my utmost to place the economy firmly on the path to real recovery," he said. "I am ready to share the pain with the Japanese people."
Mori promised to improve social services, carry out regulatory reforms and promote information technology as a catalyst for economic growth. He also pledged to strengthen ties with the United States and Asia and to ensure that a summit meeting of the Group of 8, scheduled for July in Okinawa, would be successful.
But most of Mori's 15-minute address Friday afternoon simply duplicated Obuchi's policy agenda, and the new prime minister offered no specific programs or initiatives to lift the nation out of its worst post-war economic slump.
Under Obuchi, the government began slowly opening its markets to foreign competition, companies started downsizing bloated payrolls and parliament approved a massive economic stimulus program. The economy has shown some improvement, although unemployment reached a record high of 4.9 percent in February and growth has been weak.
Mori, who reappointed all the members of Obuchi's Cabinet, is widely considered to be serving as a caretaker prime minister until new elections, which must be held by October. In his speech Friday, Mori gave no indication of when he planned to call elections. The opposition is pressing the current administration to hold early elections, but leaders of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party have said they would prefer to wait until after the Okinawa summit meeting.