| 1 | Even the Japanese were getting restless; the stagnant economy had contributed to the election losses that had led to the recent resignation of my friend Ryutaro Hashimoto as prime minister. | |
| 2 | To make things worse, then-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto was trying to reduce the government fiscal deficit - at the most inopportune time. | |
| 3 | Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto...also has a new electoral mandate as head of an internationalist coalition no longer dominated by ambivalent socialists. | |
| 4 | 在这项史无前例的人事异动中,森喜朗将指派宫泽喜一及桥本龙太郎这两位前任首相出任重要的职务,而他们也都在国会中都拥有大批忠实的拥护者。 In an unprecedented move, Mori assigned key posts to two former prime ministers - Kiichi Miyazawa and Ryutaro Hashimoto, who both have legions of loyal followers in Parliament. |