[Opinion] Koizumi in Second Term

I had a chance to attend a high-ranking official meeting at a major Japanese daily on April 11 2001. At the end of the meeting, participants talked about a joint conference scheduled for the following month by four candidates of Liberal Democratic Party chairmanship. The discussion was about `who would become the prime minister of the country` since the race was seen as a race for prime minister seat. I was wondering if there were any possibilities of an election revolution as forecast by some foreign press. Then, a manager of the political bureau said confidently, ˝I believe such chances are very slim. Hashimoto Ryutaro, who is leading the great faction of the party, is almost certain to win. Japanese politics is about factions, after all.˝

It was Junichiro Koizumi, however, who won the election 13 days later. Surprised at the results, I felt sympathetic toward the officials at the newspaper company as one of their kind. Japanese media failed to read public sentiment, preoccupied by the old tradition of factionist politics. Come to think of it, media in this country also made a similar mistake during the presidential election last year. Koizumi won a landslide victory last week to be reelected, and it seems he is on a path to long premiership.

We need to take a close look at what is happening in Japan. His foreign policy toward the Korean Peninsula, in particular, will be of our great interest. The Japanese leader, after a meeting with his U.S. counterpart in the White House, said `it was a fantastic meeting` in English. He is apparently in good terms with Bush and his administration. The prime minister has been rallying behind Bush on his attack on Iraq despite the vehement global opposition, and is now even talking about contributing to war costs.

We also wonder how his policy toward North Korea will unfold. Koizumi had a summit with Kim Jong-il last year, but the two countries are still confronting with each other over Japanese apology for war-time atrocities and Pyongyang`s kidnapping of Japanese citizens. Yet, a dramatic event could be repeated again. In Japan, it is even said that they have a presidential prime minister. The prime minister, backed by strong support at home, now looks set to take a leading role in East Asia. He must be more than just a leader of neighboring country, then.

Bang Hyeong-nam, Editorial Writer, hnbhang@donga.com