Koizumi's election

Yesterday was the Japanese elections and according to early indications it looks pretty certain that Koizumi has won a second term.

Now, I don't know very much about Japanese politics, but I do know that this is a pretty important election. It seems that it is not just to do with post office reform which Koizumi is pushing for. It is more fundamental than that - seemingly a big step towards more radical reforms.

I don't really know what these reforms are, other than the postal one. But having spoken to a few people about it, it seems that Japan could go in two directions: The Liberal Democratic Party with its promises of sweeping reforms; or the more conservative Democratic Party of Japan.

This election, therefore, is a rather large gamble.

It serves as a referendum on the postal reform (and therefore also future reforms), and is also a chance to weed out the rebels in his party by putting celebrities and political novices up against elder members of the LDP in some areas. These include a former Miss Tokyo University, a one-time news anchorman and an internet entrepreneur. This will make it easier for him to push through reforms, which before had been rejected by the rebels.

So it appears that his gamble has paid off, with a landside victory and a record turnout to the polls. It will be interesting to see how (if at all) this will change Japan in the long-run, now that Koizumi has the support of the people and the party.