Word: koizumi
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...succumbed to a far-reaching pension scandal that forced them to resign their leadership posts. With only weeks to go before the election, the nation's largest opposition party seemed rudderless and lacking a message. Political pundits predicted a thumping defeat at the hands of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's near-hegemonic Liberal Demo-cratic Party (LDP), which has had a nearly uninterrupted hold on power for almost 50 years...
...Okada-a former bureaucrat and five-term Diet member-stepped into his new role with unexpected brio. He quickly brought his party back on message and waged a confident campaign. Capitalizing on an unexpected drop in Koizumi's popularity, Okada stoked the fires of outrage over the Prime Minister's two biggest recent missteps: his perceived mishandling of a major pension-reform bill, and his unpopular decision to keep troops in Iraq beyond Japan's original commitment date...
...meanwhile, won only 49-falling embarrassingly short even of its modest 51-seat goal. Although outright control of the government was never in question because the LDP retains a majority of the parliamentary seats that weren't up for election, the outcome has been a major blow to Koizumi, one that may cripple his ability to push through many of the financial-reform initiatives he has declared crucial to the remainder of his term (which is scheduled to end in the fall...
...beaming Okada said, "I think the public is beginning to be comfortable with the idea of a two-party system." But in a wide-ranging conversation on topics such as North Korea, the U.S.-Japan security alliance, and relations with China-all peppered with plenty of criticisms of Koizumi-Okada also made it clear that his sights were set even higher. He spoke not just of becoming an effective foil to the LDP but of actually winning a parliamentary majority in the next major election, expected to take place in approximately two years. "We see this [past] election...
...ASIA JAPAN: The maverick Koizumi faces drooping public support on the eve of a watershed election...