Powerbroker Casts Shadow on Potential Premier : Japan: Foreign Minister Hata could become the new prime minister. But many in the ruling coalition object to his strategist, Ozawa.

TOKYO — Tsutomu Hata, this nation’s mild-mannered foreign minister, was thrust into the spotlight as Japan’s tattered coalition began discussions today on choosing a new Japanese leader.

Japanese media reported the choice of Hata as a foregone conclusion. But at a key meeting of the deputies of the eight parties in the coalition this morning, the Socialists, the Democratic Socialists and the New Party Harbinger insisted that new arrangements for decision-making first be worked out to restrict the power of Hata’s strategist, Ichiro Ozawa--who served as the mastermind for outgoing Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa--in any Hata government.

Ozawa, for his part, told reporters that he pushed for an agreement on policies the new government would follow on the economy, tax reform and North Korea.

The deputies scheduled another meeting for this afternoon.

Wataru Kubo, the Socialists’ secretary general, had predicted Tuesday that a decision on a successor might be made today. NHK, the semi-governmental national TV and radio network, reported that a quick decision is unlikely but said the lower house is expected to elect a new prime minister early next week.

Already, reports were circulating about of likely appointments in a Hata Cabinet. Kubo, for example, was cited as the choice for chief Cabinet secretary.

Hata, one of the rebels who bolted the Liberal Democratic Party last June and deprived it of its majority, had been one of the former ruling party’s chief advocates of political reform. His experience as both finance minister and agriculture minister was expected to help him carry out reforms of Japan’s economy that Hosokawa had promised.

Last Friday, Hosokawa accepted responsibility for a controversy over his personal financial dealings and declared his intention to resign to break a parliamentary boycott that has prevented enactment of the fiscal 1994 budget.

Although his coalition appeared to be on the brink of a split, its members apparently realized they could not succeed in their rival attempts to link up with segments of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party to elect a prime minister.

Ozawa had sent out feelers to an eager Michio Watanabe, 70, a Liberal Democratic bigwig, to join his Renewal Party and the Buddhist-backed Clean Government Party in a new mix that would exclude the left-leaning Socialists. On Monday, Watanabe declared he had “the will, the spirit and the physical strength” to serve as prime minister. But by Tuesday night, it became clear he did not have the votes.

Watanabe--who resigned as foreign minister and deputy prime minister a year ago because of ill health--would have to gather at least 80 Liberal Democratic defectors to win a lower house election for prime minister with backing from Ozawa’s group and the Buddhist party. But lower house followers in his faction, the LDP’s third largest, number only 46.

For their part, Socialist leaders had hinted that they would be willing to join a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, whose 38-year rule ended last summer, to counteract moves to pick Watanabe. Rank-and-file members, however, rebelled against the suggestion.

Socialist, New Party Harbinger and Democratic Socialist leaders initiated a truce in their fight with the Hata-Ozawa Renewal Party and the Clean Government Party on Tuesday by dropping their insistence that all discussions to choose a leader be held among only top leaders of the eight parties. Instead, they agreed to allow party deputies to continue talks. The bid to end the deputies’ discussions was designed to push Ozawa, deputy leader of the Renewal Party, out of the decision-making process.

The new moves did nothing to remove the distrust and enmity that have been building in the coalition since January, when it achieved an assurance that political reforms would be enacted.

Political reform and opposition to the Liberal Democrats were the only common goals that brought together the entourage of leftist and conservative politicians last July.

Socialist Chairman Tomiichi Murayama and Masayoshi Takemura, head of the tiny New Party Harbinger, both repeated demands Tuesday that decision-making within the coalition must be “democratized.” Their meaning: Curtail Ozawa.

Ozawa, the leader of last June’s revolt against the Liberal Democrats, infuriated coalition members in February when he persuaded Hosokawa to announce a plan to increase a 3% consumption tax to 7% three years from now to finance an immediate three-year, 20% income-tax cut.

Without consulting the Socialists and leaving even members of his Cabinet in the dark, Hosokawa made the announcement at one of his frequent middle-of-the-night news conferences. The next day, he was forced to rescind it.

Without saying anything about the possibility of his selection, Hata surprised fellow politicians by leaving today to attend a meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, at which a world trade agreement is to be signed. Hata will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and is expected to seek his agreement to resume U.S.-Japan “framework” talks. Hata is scheduled to return Sunday.

Meantime, as the coalition moved toward unity, the Liberal Democrats turned toward chaos. An announcement by Yohei Kono, the party’s president, that he will run for prime minister spurred a group of 10 younger Liberal Democrats to threaten to leave the party.