On Wednesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi greeted the fifth anniversary of his rule, becoming Japan's third-longest serving postwar leader after Eisaku Sato and Shigeru Yoshida.
As soon as it was inaugurated, the Koizumi Cabinet launched the challenging task of privatizing postal services and highway public corporations. The undertaking was part of the Cabinet's campaign for structural reform, the top priority of its political agenda. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., the administration moved to strengthen Japan's defense alliance with the United States.
In Japan's political history, Koizumi is likely to be remembered as a leader who made major changes in domestic and diplomatic policies. He deserves praise for kick-starting the recovery of the nation's economy, which remained moribund throughout the "lost decade" of the 1990s, and for bringing persistent deflation to an end.