Japanese Prime Minister Hospitalized

TOKYO, Sept. 13 — A day after abruptly announcing his resignation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was hospitalized with gastrointestinal problems this morning, as the governing Liberal Democratic Party pushed back the date to choose his successor.

Mr. Abe was expected to stay in the hospital at least three or four days because he was suffering from digestive problems and a lack of appetite brought on by fatigue and stress, according to Mr. Abes doctor at Keio University Hospital here. Party officials had cited Mr. Abes poor health as one reason behind his resignation.

Adding to the political vacuum, party officials announced that they would hold an election to choose a new leader on Sept. 23, not Sept. 19, as they had said the day before. Apparently worried about giving the impression that the next prime minister would emerge from backroom deals, they said the extra time would allow more candidates to campaign before the general public.

The finance minister, Fukushiro Nukaga, 63, declared his intention to run in the Sept. 23 party election. Taro Aso, the partys secretary general, and Yasuo Fukuda, a former chief cabinet minister, are also considered strong candidates.

The disarray inside the Liberal Democratic Party, as well as the newly empowered main opposition Democratic Party, will almost certainly interrupt, and perhaps put an end, to the Japanese naval forces six-years of participation in operations supporting the war in Afghanistan.

In announcing his resignation, Mr. Abe said a more popular successor would be better able to extend the naval forces mission past its Nov. 1 expiration. But because of the resignation, as well as the time needed to select a new prime minister and form a new cabinet, the governing party will be unable to overcome opposition objections before the expiration, said Gen Nakatani, a member of Mr. Abes party who served as defense minister when the law was first passed in 2001.

Its now 100 percent sure that our ships will have to come back at least once, Mr. Nakatani said in an interview, adding that he hoped the mission would resume under a new law in the future.

He added: In the international community, its important to carry out a mission to the end. If we withdraw at this stage, all that we have accomplished will go down the drain.

Urged by the United States to shoulder greater military responsibilities, Japan has passed laws since 2001 to circumvent its pacifist Constitution and allow it to assist in the American-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. President Bush and other American officials have pressed Japan to extend its mission in the Indian Ocean, where its ships have been refueling American and other vessels participating in the war in Afghanistan.

Debate over the law allowing that mission is expected to lead to a larger discussion about Japans security alliance with the United States and its increasingly assertive military.

The Democratic Party opposition leader, Ichiro Ozawa, has said that Japans military should participate only in United Nations-led missions. Members of Mr. Ozawas party have said that under Mr. Abe and his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, Japan has grown too close militarily with the United States at the expense of its relations with its neighbors.

Koizumi and Bush, Abe and Bush — from our perspective, those relationships were too close, Shinkun Haku, a Democratic Party lawmaker who is a member of the upper house of Parliaments foreign affairs and defense committee, said in an interview. I dont deny that the Japan-U.S. alliance is our most important one. But is it right to look only to the United States and turn our backs on China and South Korea?

Opposition lawmakers said they would use their new control over the upper house of Parliament to extract more information about the exact nature of Japans military assistance in the Indian Ocean.

Kenji Eda, an independent lawmaker, said that some of the oil supplied to American and other vessels may have been used in Iraq, instead of Afghanistan, and in other ways that possibly contravened the antiterrorism law. The government has denied the charges.

The actual conditions surrounding the refueling mission have barely been explained, Mr. Eda, who has pressed the government to release more details about the mission, said in an interview. Until now, the governing party used its large majority to easily extend the law.

Mr. Haku added of Japans ships: We have no idea whats happening on the other side of the ocean. Were told that everythings going well, but theres no way to know the truth.

Graham Bowley contributed reporting from New York.

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