Japan's new prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, was
described by one of his fellow Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
members of parliament as looking "like one of those homeless guys
in the park".
It is a remark that may come back to haunt the country, especially
since Koizumi's warm embrace of economic reform policies is likely
to increase Japan's unemployment rate, which is already at record
high levels of around 5%.
No matter: only a few days after Koizumi's new government unveiled
a painful blueprint to reform the economy, at an immediate cost of
up to 200,000 jobs through getting rid of banks' bad debts, the LDP
was the main gainer in key municipal elections in Tokyo. Koizumi
himself is enjoying immense popularity, more akin to that of a pop
or sumo star than a politician. The Japanese public has bought more
than half a million posters of the prime minister and he is winning
unheard...
