SINGAPORE -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took an unprecedented political gamble in dissolving the Lower House and calling a snap general election for Sept. 11 -- after the Upper House rejected his postal privatization bills Aug. 8. The privatization of Japan Post symbolizes Koizumi's reform plans for Japan's economy and society. At stake is the disposition of some $3 trillion in assets accumulated through Japan Post's savings and insurance programs. Koizumi wants to "free" these assets to stimulate the economy. If successful, Koizumi could break the stranglehold of certain local politicians who oppose fundamental social and political restructuring because it threatens their vested interests.
Southeast Asians are closely watching Koizumi's moves. They wonder whether Koizumi's strong-arm tactics will change Japan, such as by altering its traditional "consensual" mentality, and what it would mean for them.
Koizumi appears to have the support of a majority of Japanese who want to shake the country out of the status quo, but it remains to be seen if they will boost him at the polls. Many observers wonder whether the prime minister has recklessly alienated a crucial segment of his own party, especially after he called on voters not to support those candidates who rebelled against him in Parliament.