THE KOIZUMI PHENOMENON: has the Japanese perestroika begun?

• Author: Edirippulige, Sisira
• Position: Jun'ichiro Koizumi

Sisira Edirippulige discusses the reasons for Jun'ichiro Koizumi's sudden emergence as Japanese leader and outlines some of the obstacles to his reform programme.

Since the victory of Jun'ichiro Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election in March 2001, which subsequently led him to the position of Prime Minister, reform has become the buzz-word in Japanese politics. His landslide victory and continuing popularity are testimony to the approval of his radical reforms. In contrast to the political aloofness in the past, reform has today become a hot topic in the day-today conversation of Japanese people. One explanation of all these recent changes is what the Japanese media often calls the `Koizumi phenomenon'.

The reasons for the sudden emergence of Koizumi and his overwhelming success have been the subject of debate among political analysts both in Japan and overseas. The foreign press has emphasised his unconventional style and manner of appealing to the public as significant factors in his popularity. As one Western newspaper observed, Koizumi is `an unusually colourful figure in the gray world of Japanese politics', who attracted the public as a leader of the new generation.(l) Nevertheless, there is no doubt that, in addition to his personal charisma, his political stance and policy initiatives have made him an outstanding figure in Japan's contemporary politics.

Koizumi's most significant difference from other Japanese political leaders has been his appeal for the abolition of the faction system in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Japan's dominant political party since the end of the Second World War. Giving up his own factional loyalties, Koizumi launched a war against factional politics in the LDP during his election campaign that made him a maverick (uchujin).

Since 1955, when Japan's post-war party system was established, the most visible feature of Japanese politics has been the continuous dominance of the LDP. Japan's political system has often been called a `lone party system' or `one and a half party system'.(2) Another significant characteristic of the LDP-dominated Japanese politics has been the factional infighting that is as old as the party itself and remains unchanged today. It has always been the case that the leadership of the LDP would go to the winner of the battle-between the faction bosses. Post-war LDP leaders such as Takeo Miki, Kakuei Tanaka, Masayoshi Ohira, Takeo Fukuda and Yasuhiro Nakasone all reached the party presidency and then became Prime Minister as the result of factional struggles that were resolved by backroom deals that traded immediate power for promises of future preferment.(3)

This principle of selecting the leader of the country remained intact as the battle for the party presidency was a playoff between men who had won through earlier struggles to become faction leaders. Meanwhile, there has been an unwritten consensus over the basic requirements of a faction boss. The leader of a faction must be knowledgeable in policy matters and must have good interpersonal skills. More importantly, a factional leader must have strong contacts in the business networks that are essential for fund-raising.(4)

Biggest faction

The Keiseikai faction, formed by Noboru Takeshita and the biggest within the LDP, has been effectively controlling the party leadership elections since its formation in 1987. It has been clear that the leader would be either a member of the Keiseikai, or a member of another faction who the Keiseikais approved becoming LDP president. Indeed, members of the weaker factions who gained the leadership through the Keiseikai's approval were often unable to take any action that would displease the Keiseikai leaders.

Koizumi's victory was all the more remarkable in that he challenged and eventually defeated the Keiseikai faction in his election campaign. In principle Ryutaro Hashi-moto, who led the Keiseikai faction, was assumed to have an overwhelming majority of party votes among the Diet members and smaller factions like the Horiuchi faction, the Kono faction and part of the ex-Komoto faction. For the same reason, many political analysts predicted a Hashimoto victory in spite of Koizumi's visible popularity.

Koizumi's popularity among the public derives in part from his emergence as a strong leader. In recent times, there has been a drastic erosion of trust and confidence in Japan's political leadership. A widespread debate on the `nature of Japanese political leadership' can be expected as a reflection of this frustration with and disappointment in the nation's political leaders among the general public.(5) Moreover, a series of...