The Prime Minister of

The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshiro Mori, survived a vote of no-confidence last night. I'm rather surprised.

Mori replaced PM Obuchi when Obuchi suffered a fatal stroke earlier this year. The selection was controversial at the time, as Mori had little experience in international diplomacy. His tenure as PM has been described by the press as "full of gaffes." Still, he was able to win an election in July to retain his seat as PM but his popularity has dropped below 20% recently.

Over the past six weeks members of his own politial party, the LDP, have been increasingly aggressive about getting Mori out of the PM seat. His main opponent, Kato, led the drive to a no-confidence vote last night. But at the last minute, Kato abstained from voting. The LDP threatened to oust anyone who voted against Mori; perhaps that kept Kato in rein.

Mori is a goofball whose name is often associated with "gaffe." He referred to Japan as a "divine nation," a phrase that hasn't been publically uttered since before the war (back then, Shinto was the state religion, the Emperor was a god and Japan was divine). His command of English isn't strong and he's made some embarrassing mistakes when speaking to world leaders.

Is Mori a good PM? Who knows. He certainly keeps the political scene lively.