Word: reformer
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...their friends and supporters. It was no coincidence that the first institution he attacked as a young politician was the post office, which sits on a huge treasure chest of Japanese personal savings and is linked with the kinds of officials his mentor so despised. "When Koizumi says 'reform' he means to destroy that faction," says Katsuyuki Yakushiji, a journalist who has known the Prime Minister for many years. "The fact that reforming might also be good for Japan is secondary...
...helped Koizumi's career. But being a loner can be a huge handicap when you're trying to tear down that culture?and have powerful, entrenched forces fighting you every step of the way. The LDP conservatives, led by the formidable Ryutaro Hashiimoto, want no part of Koizumi's reform agenda and are determined to preserve the business-politics relationships the Prime Minister has sworn to destroy. They are waiting to pounce: at the first sign of vulnerability, they will surely come after Koizumi as they did with previous reform-minded Premiers. "They've been waiting years...
...What Koizumi needs to do is win himself some allies in parliament?from among younger LDP legislators, perhaps, or even from the opposition. He was smart to sign up the young, hard-charging Nobuteru Ishihara to head up administrative reform in his Cabinet, and there are dozens of other younger pols, inside and out of the LDP, that he would be wise to court. But his natural aloofness makes it hard for him to reach out. And the few friends he has in politics are more likely to get him into trouble than out of it. Koizumi is close...
...needs a cautionary tale about the impermanence of popularity, Koizumi need only call on former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. In 1993, Hosokawa was a proto-Koizumi: a young, telegenic maverick, who promised to mend Japan's then newly burst bubble economy and reform old-style politics. And yes, he too had a youthful, blow-dried haircut. Hosokawa bolted from the LDP, cobbled together a coalition and became Prime Minister with Koizumi-like approval ratings. True to his word, he opened the protected rice market and introduced campaign-finance reform. But a minor scandal and an unwieldy coalition deflated Hosokawa. Eight...
...GUARD Koizumi's biggest enemies are from within his own party, the Liberal Democrats. His reform agenda is designed to destroy the Establishment and their pork-barrel politics. They'll be chipping away at his plans every chance they get Koizumi's plan: Act the populist and use every attack against his agenda as a way to garner even more support. Cram through reforms before people realize just how bad things are Outlook: GOOD. They can make life difficult for Koizumi, but they don't offer any appealing alternative...