Until recently, lawmaker Shinjiro Koizumi was out of the spotlight, sometimes a figure of ridicule said to be long on image and short on substance.
In 2019, as environment minister, he faced backlash after saying the fight against climate change needed to be made sexy to attract younger people. Last year, as a candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, he was criticized for calling for the deregulation of Japan’s labor market, and he ultimately lost to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Now, he’s back, winning applause as agriculture minister for bringing the price of rice down and being praised by veteran LDP colleagues for his leadership on the issue, as the party looks to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election later this month and the Upper House election in July.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.