Tsutomu Hata
Kanemaru stepped down in 1992, and Ozawa backed finance minister Tsutomu Hata to replace him. The faction's eight member steering committee nominated Obuchi as chairman by a 5–0 vote, with Ozawa and two of his supporters having boycotted the meeting. Obuchi proposed reducing the faction leader's degree of control over the faction in an attempt to keep Ozawa within the faction, but Ozawa began to plan his departure.