Outspoken former Japan PM Hashimoto dies

TOKYO, July 1 (Reuters) Former Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, an outspoken politician who jousted with US officials over auto trade and brought ''Big Bang'' financial reforms to Tokyo, died today at the age of 68.

Hashimoto, who retired from politics last September citing poor health, had undergone surgery to remove a large part of his intestine after being rushed to hospital on June 4, his son told a news conference. He died in a Tokyo hospital.

Hailed as a forceful leader who would tackle reform when he took office in 1996, Hashimoto ultimately faltered in the face of financial crisis, political scandals and economic stagnation.

By the time Hashimoto made a second run for the premiership in April 2001, losing out to reformist Junichiro Koizumi, he had become an emblem of his ruling party's resistance to change.

Hashimoto, a dapper, quick-tempered man who practised kendo fencing, himself once had a reputation as a popular reformer.

Prime Minister Koizumi went straight to Hashimoto's house after arriving back from a trip to the United States and Canada.

''I cannot withhold my sorrow upon hearing of the death of this outstanding leader,'' Koizumi said in a statement.

Hashimoto ''shouldered the important mission of prime minister at a time when our country's economy was in a grave situation after the bubble burst,'' he said. ''He devoted his efforts to stabilising the financial system, reorganising central government ministries and agencies.'' After a high-profile term as trade minister during which he faced off against then-US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor in a bitter feud over the auto trade, Hashimoto became head of a coalition government in January 1996.

A media favourite who stood out with his slicked-back hair, rakish suits and ever-present cigarette, he was welcomed abroad as a take-charge executive.

But Hashimoto angered Japan's Asian neighbours when, on his 59th birthday, he paid a visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where World War Two leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal are honoured along with the nation's war dead.

Koizumi has similarly outraged China and South Korea with his annual visits to Yasukuni after he defeated Hashimoto to become prime minister in 2001.

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