REFORMER UNDERMINES REFORMER.

• Position: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan - Brief Article

Since the election of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the western media have emphasized the new leader's historic role as a great reformer within the Japanese political system. Yet Tokyo insiders point out that Koizumi is a significantly more complicated political animal than the simplistic media descriptions suggest. It was only a few years ago, they point out, that Koichi Karo emerged as the great reformer within the LDP but found himself all but trampled to death politically by...