Author

Euisuok Han, Chung-Ang University

Abstract

This paper analyzes Koizumi’s leadership by focusing on his political experience, his ability to recognize and exploit the political opportunity structure, and his resource mobilization strategy for achieving his goals. In the early 1990s, despite numerous attempts to revive Japan’s stagnant economy after the collapse of asset price bubble, prime ministers have stuck to traditional Liberal Democratic Party politics without any major transformations due to political and economical limitations of the time. Koizumi by contrast attained momentous achievements through major policy reform, such as management of junk bonds, reduction of public works, and privatization of the postal service. He was also able to overcome factional politics which has been a negative legacy of Liberal Democratic Party’s politics.

Although Koizumi’s financial restoration and privatization policies faced strong resistance from many political interest groups, he took advantage of the enhanced authority of the prime minister and utilized institutions such as the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy to advocate his political beliefs. In order to complement his weak power base within the Party, he sought public support. Throughout every power and policy struggle during his term, Koizumi was able to establish a strong base of power by framing a conflict structure against traditional Liberal Democratic Party politicians associated with the anti-reform factional politics. Furthermore, Koizumi exercised powerful leadership with his strong will to follow his beliefs and policy preferences by implementing risk-taking strategies especially during a political crisis regarding postal privatization.

It is debatable whether Koizumi’s reform policies were actually as successful as he had promised. However, unlike other Japanese prime ministers who took on lukewarm approaches toward resolving the political and economic problems since the late 1980s, Koizumi pushed through structural reforms and active implementation of relevant policies. Moreover, his post-Liberal Party policies can be considered successful in that it removed pork-barrel politics and factional divisions from the center of political attention in Japan.

The full text in Korean is available here