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Koizumi Junichiro (1942- )
In the staid and stuffy world of Japanese party politics, Koizumi
Junichiro has to be seen as something of a breath of fresh air.
A popular politician for several years, the stepped into the political
vaccuum left when former prime minister Mori Yoshiro resigned
in April 2001. With his own popularity and the support
of other popular young politicians such as Tanaka
Makiko, Koizumi defeated his main rival for the leadership of his party,
former leader Hashimoto Ryutaro.
Koizumi appointed 5 women and 3 non-politicians (both records)
to his inaugral cabinet, which achieved the record high rating
of 87.1 percent in the popularity polls. He kept up his campaign
claims that he would force commercial banks to write off their
bad debts and privatise Japan's postal savings system. Both plans
are seen as key to economic recovery but at the same time involve
painful but necessary measures that will hit crucial LDP support
groups. He has also promised to abolish the LDP's faction system,
a huge task in that it is the core of the party's internal power
structure. Indeed Koizumi himself rose to power by being leader
of a major faction. He had to work with some of the key party
powerbrokers to get where he is now. But he refers to himself
as a 'kakumei no hito' or revolutionary and the time is certainly
ripe for just such a figure in Japan.
Whatever Koizumi may call himself, within political circles he
is known as 'henjin' or weirdo. This reflects the fact that he
is not your typical politician. He divorced his wife in 1982 -
and won custody of his two sons - making him a very rare single
prime minister. He is also instantly recognizable with his gaunt
look and unruly, permed grey hair. Koizumi is known to be a fan
of opera and rock music - his favorite song is said to be 'Forever
Love' by the now defunct glam rock band X Japan. Shortly after becoming
prime minister, he opened a museum built
to commemorate Hide, the late guitarist with the hugely popular band, in his
own hometown of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. There is also a CD
featuring Koizumi's favorite tracks by Elvis Presley -
the cover has a "photo" of the two together.
But Koizumi also has his conservative side. His is yet another
of the 'inherited' political names, his father and grandfather
having served in the Diet before him. He also has announced plans
to revise the peace constitution to increase the role of the Self-Defense
Forces and paid several official visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine
is where Japan's war dead are entombed and such visits always
enraged its Asian neighbors, even when Koizumi took pains to avoid
visiting on particularly sensitive dates. But on August 15, 2006 - just
month before he was to stand down as LDP leader and prime minister, and
the anniversary of the end of WWII, he made one last visit in his
official capacity. protests ensued but were somewhat dimmed by the
fact that Asian leaders knew it was a final dramatic gesture from a
man who always has a firm grasp of how to play the media.
Time will probably remember Koizumi mainly as a maverick reformer, a
politician with the personal confidence and charisma to take on his
own party. His five years in power saw many changes, both within the
party and nationally. At the end of the 1990s, Japan was deperately in
need of change, and Koizumi was just the man to bring it. He will be
a hard act to follow.
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