Outgoing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi moved out of the Prime Minister's Official Residence Thursday evening as he gets ready to hand the reins of government to new ruling party leader Shinzo Abe next Tuesday.
In the final edition of his weekly e-mail magazine Thursday, Koizumi thanked the public for the support he received over his 5 1/2-year term, and said he will maintain a "low profile" after leaving office while assisting the new prime minister as a Diet member.
"One has to make vital decisions on one's own. There are times when we have to disregard friendship or personal preferences and become hardhearted," wrote Koizumi, who was often criticized for being cold and not consulting others in his decisions.
"I believe myself to be a timid, plain and common-sense individual," he added. "I have given my all with the feeling that something is always protecting me and that luck is on my side."
Koizumi referred to Abe as "a trusted friend who has been supportive of the reforms I have advanced." He concluded his message with a tanka thanking his supporters.
On Thursday morning, Koizumi took his usual walk from the residence to the adjacent Prime Minister's Office, where he conducts his official duties.
Asked by reporters if he felt reluctant to move out, the smiling Koizumi said: "No, no. I will finally be free." He stayed up until 3 a.m. packing.
In the inaugural issue of his e-mail magazine in 2001, Koizumi described himself as "a bird in a cage 24 hours a day" because he was always surrounded by bodyguards.
Koizumi said his most memorable experience at the prime minister's residence was watching bulbul chicks hatch in a nest outside his room.
