Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration is enjoying record high public-approval ratings of more than 80 percent. Television news-programs report daily on the activities of Koizumi as well as Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, who has caught the public's fancy as the top female member of his Cabinet. Ratings for live television coverage of Diet sessions have sharply risen. Japanese are in the midst of "Koizumi fever."
The Koizumi Cabinet's public-approval ratings exceeded those for my Cabinet, which took power in 1993. There have been some media reports and commentaries comparing the Koizumi and Hosokawa administrations. They share similarities -- both wrested power from the LDP establishment with their pledges of reform -- but have differences as well.
The Hosokawa Cabinet was the first government in 38 years to oust the Liberal Democratic Party from power. We received public-approval ratings of more than 70 percent, a sign that the Japanese public welcomed the political upheaval.