In Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Sept. 17, 2002, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi emerged from his government jet with an air of determination.

Most of his structural reform agenda had come to a standstill, but on the diplomatic front his administration was cooking.

The greatest feat of Koizumi's time in office was his summit with the North Korean leader, the first by a Japanese prime minister.