Japan’s election yesterday provides an object lesson in the power of reform.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), in power for most of the last 5
decades, won 296 seats in the 480-seat Lower House for its first
majority in 15 years. This was even after Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi expelled 37 recalcitrant members. The main opposition party,
the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) had made gains in recent elections
— leading some to hope for a true two-party system. The DPJ was on the
wrong side of the central issue this time, postal service
privatization, and lost one-third of its seats.
The main
opposition for Koizumi had come from within the LDP’s own ranks. He has
handled that problem while demolishing the DPJ and coopting outsiders
such as Takafumi Horie, founder and CEO of Livedoor. Once he wins his postal battle, Koizumi’s next big fight will be the Constitution itself and the “no war” Article 9.
