He was supposed to go to the north pole, but changed directions on the way and ended up discovering the south pole. A connoisseur of polar-expedition literature would immediately say this is a description of Roald Amundsen, the great Norwegian explorer of the early 20th century.
But not on this occasion. In this early 21st century time we live in, this would be a comment on Junichiro Koizumi, prime minister of Japan.
Mr. Koizumi has just reshuffled his Cabinet. By his own definition, the new lineup is totally geared toward postal reform. In this respect, it is also something of a war Cabinet -- Mr. Koizumi's long campaign against the postal services has reached its final stage.