The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi became 2 years old at the end of April. At its inception, his Cabinet enjoyed a public approval rating of more than 80 percent, the highest ever for a postwar administration. Around the beginning of last month, it still maintained a high level of about 50 percent.
The presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party is coming up in September, but the most frequently heard analysis at the moment is that there is no one to replace Koizumi. Thus the view is gaining ground that the LDP presidential election this fall will almost certainly result in the continuation of the present administration.
Of course, anything can happen in politics. For example, there is deep-rooted speculation that Shintaro Ishihara, who recently won re-election as governor of Tokyo, really has his eyes on the post of prime minister.