AMID intensifying pressure, and numerous uncertainties, Japan's political crisis appeared in sight of resolution last night, but the pursuit of political reform is going right down to the wire, heading for a suspenseful resolution today.
At a last-minute ''summit'', Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and opposition leader Yohei Kono have cobbled together a late-night compromise. But whether the two leaders can sell their agreement to their respective followers remains very much in doubt.
The deadline for all the turmoil remains midnight tonight (11 pm Hong Kong time) when the current session of the Diet must end. So unless four political reform bills have been approved by that time, they will lapse.
Should this happen, it will leave Mr Hosokawa with three basic options. He could resign as Prime Minister, as he hinted he would do on Thursday. In this case, the seven-party coalition could stay in power and appoint another prime minister.
Second, he could dissolve the Lower House for a snap election on the issue of reform, staying on as caretaker prime minister until it was held.
The third option would be for him to continue as Prime Minister on the grounds that issues such as the Budget and the revival of the economy must be handled before an election can take place.