On April 26 the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi entered its fourth year in power. Following his three-year rule under the slogan "No growth without reform," the Japanese economy is finally on a recovery track.
The day before, the governing Liberal Democratic Party had won all three Lower House by-elections, which were said to be a forerunner of July's Upper House election. The top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, was defeated decisively.
If the LDP wins the Upper House election, Koizumi could remain in office until his tenure as LDP president expires in September 2006. That would make him the third longest-ruling postwar prime minister after Eisaku Sato and Shigeru Yoshida.