Mori, Yoshiro (1937– )

Japanese prime minister 2000–2001. He took office in April 2000 after Keizo Obuchi was incapacitated by a stroke from which he did not recover. Mori retained his predecessor's cabinet and sought to revive the ailing Japanese economy through boosting spending, but his party, the Jiyu Minshu-to (JMt; in English the Liberal Democratic Party or LDP), fared poorly in the June 2000 general election. The economy remained weak, Mori's poll ratings sank to below 10% at times, and three ministers resigned from the government amid a series of scandals. He resigned in April 2001.

Born into a rice-farming family, Mori studied commerce at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, and worked as a journalist with a right-wing tabloid newspaper before being elected to the Japanese House of Representatives in 1969, representing Komatsu in his native Ishikawa prefecture. He served as a minister for education 1983–84, international trade and industry 1992–93, and construction 1995–96, and JMt secretary-general 1993–95 and 1998–2000.