Japan: First Test for Sato

The Japanese have a habit of giving every event its own descriptive title, and politics keeps the phrasemakers particularly busy.

When the Diet was dissolved in 1948 to permit the first elections under the present constitution, it was promptly dubbed the "Rigged Dissolution" be cause U.S. occupation authorities were the ones who arranged it. In 1952 came the "Surprise Dissolution" that caught everyone unawares. The "You Fool Dissolution" took its name from Premier Shigeru Yoshida's angry retort to a heckler in 1953. When Premier Eisaku Sato dissolved the ninth postwar Diet last week and called for new elections to be held on Jan. 29, his move seemed destined to go down in history as the "Black Mist Dissolution"; it developed from the fog of corruption and influence-peddling scandals (TIME, Nov. 4) that have embarrassed the government during the past five months.

Three Warnings. For Sato, who inherited the post of Premier after the retirement of ailing Liberal Democratic Party Leader Hayato Ikeda two years ago, this month's election will be his first test at the polls. He is well aware that he has a fight on his hands. In a party caucus after he dissolved the lower house, Sato warned members three times to lay off any hanky-panky and to avoid even a whisper of scandal during their campaigns. "The recent mor als problem," Sato admitted to the nation in a public statement, "has greatly impaired the people's trust in politics and political parties. We are determined to investigate what needs to be investigated, rectify the wrongs, and establish a fair and clean government."

Sato's one consolation is that the op position parties are in no better shape than his own Liberal Democrats. The far-left Socialists, who held 141 seats in the lower house, still call for class warfare and complete nationalization of all Japanese industry, which hardly endears them to the country's increasingly prosperous electorate. The middle-of-the-road Democratic Socialists, who held 23 seats, are simply too vacillating to generate wide support. And the neo-Buddhist Clean Government Party, which will be running in its first general election, is too new and too limited in its appeal to pose a major threat to the Liberal Democrats.

Sato can also draw hope from his past record. Despite the black mist, he has improved relations with South Korea, promoted aid to the undeveloped nations of Southeast Asia and given new stability to his country's vigorous economy, which is growing 8% a year.

Uncomfortable Majority. Most observers feel that Sato will win a majority in the 486-seat lower house, but that his "comfortable" majority of 278 seats may be whittled down toward the minimum majority of 244 seats. If that happens, he might find it necessary to call another election later in the year.