At the end of the recent Group of Eight summit in Kananaskis, Canada, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed confidence in successfully implementing his reform programs, including plans for highway administration and postal services. Koizumi said, "My G8 partners praised and encouraged me when I told them that the programs are making steady progress and my stance on reforms has not wavered."
But strong resistance in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's old guard and among bureaucrats has forced Koizumi to make a series of compromises concerning the reforms, and it is unclear if additional revisions will be necessary in the plans. Koizumi faces mounting pressure from within the LDP to reshuffle his Cabinet and LDP executives in September. Power struggles between Koizumi and his LDP rivals are intensifying.
Public approval ratings for the Koizumi Cabinet, which dived earlier this year, have recovered somewhat, but cannot be viewed as a strong turnaround. If Koizumi yields to pressure from the LDP's "resistance" forces without achieving results in his reform agenda, he will quickly lose public support, the foundation of his administration.