Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi succeeded in shrinking the political pork barrel by privatizing the powerful post office monopoly and weaning politicians from their heavy reliance on public works to boost the economy.
But he also postponed some crucial tasks, such as reforming the social security system and resolving the nation's snowballing debt, which is now worth a combined 775 trillion yen, or 1.5 times Japan's gross domestic product.
The first and foremost task for the next prime minister and his Cabinet is to swiftly solve those problems by raising the consumption tax.