In his first week in office, Mr. Obuchi promised to act on specific proposals regarding tax cuts and bank reform. However, U.S. officials are unlikely to be satisfied with mere proposals, and will withhold judgment on Mr. Obuchi's effectiveness pending actual results.
Many U.S. officials including President Clinton have withheld making strong statements about the necessity of Mr. Obuchi acting immediately. In a briefing with reporters yesterday a Clinton administration spokesperson said "it's fairly understandable that we need to give the Prime Minister and his new team some opportunity to get their feet on the ground." However, other officials such as USTR Barshefsky have indicated that Mr. Obuchi should not be given even a short honeymoon to implement his policy initiatives. Barshefsky stated that the new government "will have no grace period" and that "they are going to have to move very, very quickly for avoiding further deterioration in Asia because of Japan's inaction."
U.S. officials have reacted cautiously to the choice of Mr. Miyazawa as Finance Minister. Certain U.S. officials including Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan applauded the selection of Mr. Miyazawa who is well-known in the United States. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin also has held initial phone contacts with Mr. Miyazawa, however, the contents of their discussions have not been reported. A meeting between Secretary Rubin and Minister Miyazawa has been tentatively scheduled for September 4-5 in San Francisco.