Fujii tells Hatoyama he wants to resign due to poor health+

TOKYO, Jan. 5 Kyodo -
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii told Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday
that he wants to step down from his post due to poor health, a ruling party
lawmaker said.

Hatoyama is attempting to persuade the 77-year-old minister to stay in the
Cabinet, said the lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
''I was told (by Fujii) that his doctors have not yet made a final judgment.
That's all for today,'' Hatoyama told reporters Tuesday evening. ''I want him
to continue to do his best, of course.''
As Fujii is determined to resign, according to the lawmaker, it is possible
that Hatoyama will eventually accept his intention in the coming days.
Fujii, who has been undergoing medical tests for about a week, met with
Hatoyama on Tuesday morning after this year's first regular Cabinet meeting.
Fujii, one of the few members of the Cabinet with extensive government
experience, was admitted to hospital on Dec. 28 for the tests, saying he was
exhausted after working to draft the fiscal 2010 budget in the face of the
country's serious fiscal constraints.
''It's about time that a conclusion was made,'' Fujii said he had told
Hatoyama, at a news conference earlier in the day.
Asked by reporters to clarify his remark, Fujii said he was referring to his
doctors' assessment of the results of his medical tests. He said the tests are
ongoing and the final results will likely be obtained soon.
He said Hatoyama listened quietly as he talked about his medical examination.
Fujii, who came from a hospital to attend the Cabinet meeting, reiterated that
he will respect the opinions of doctors in deciding whether to take part in
parliamentary deliberations later this month.
''I won't respond to a hypothetical question,'' Fujii said, when asked about
the possibility of his stepping down if the results are not good.
Hatoyama also told reporters there is no need for him to answer such a
hypothetical question as whether his resignation would have any impact on the
Cabinet.
At the news conference, Fujii declined to go into the details of his physical
condition, only saying he was ''quite exhausted'' after finishing the drafting
of the budget for the year starting in April.
Fujii has high blood pressure, according to government officials.
His regular news conference on Wednesday was canceled, the Finance Ministry said.
A 150-day ordinary Diet session is scheduled to be convened Jan. 18 to debate
the proposed 92.30 trillion yen annual budget as well as the second extra
budget for the current fiscal year aimed at stimulating weak economic activity.
Last month, the Cabinet, formed in mid-September, finished drafting the two
budgets following tense negotiations.
Fujii had considered retiring from politics but changed his mind at the last
minute before the general election in August at Hatoyama's request.
Fujii has repeatedly said he is performing his ''last public duty'' because of
the Democratic Party of Japan's landslide victory in the election, which ended
a half-century of nearly unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party.
He also served as finance minister from 1993 to 1994, during the LDP's first
spell out of power since its foundation in 1955.
==Kyodo
2010-01-05 21:36:57