Problems of success
Winning elections could make Junichiro Koizumi’s task harder
WILL Junichiro Koizumi do the double? Talk that Japan's prime minister may call a snap election for parliament's lower house at the same time as the upper-house poll in July will not die away. The odds ought to favour a double election: opinion polls suggest that Mr Koizumi's reform-minded cabinet enjoys the support of almost every voter in Japan. Yet Mr Koizumi's position is unusual. A victory for his party, the Liberal Democrats (LDP), might hurt his cause, not help it.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Problems of success”
From the June 9th 2001 edition
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