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Second Koizumi Cabinet

The Second Koizumi Cabinet was the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during his second term from November 2003 to September 2005. The cabinet was formed after the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito was re-elected with a slightly reduced majority at the November 2003 general elections. The LDP lost 10 of its pre-election seats to become a minority in the National Diet, but immediately regained a majority by absorbing its coalition partner, the New Conservative Party.[1][2] Koizumi had reshuffled the cabinet less than two months before the election, and so made no changes when he was re-elected by the Diet on November 19.[3]

Political background

Koizumi had promised that if re-elected he would send the Self-Defence Forces to Iraq to assist with reconstruction before the end of the year, a pledge which proved unpopular during the election.[4] One month into his second term, the cabinet approved the dispatch, and the SDF joined UN peacekeeping forces in Iraq in 2004, though this action continued to damage Koizumi's standing, with polls showing the public opposed.[5][6] The Koizumi cabinet's policies of structural economic reforms continued during its second term, some of which proved controversial. In the spring of 2004 the government introduced reforms designed to cut pension costs by reducing state benefits and increasing user costs.[7] This policy was not only unpopular, but cost Koizumi a minister when Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda resigned after it was revealed he had failed to make his payments.[8]

The political fallout from Iraq and the pension reforms led to poor results for the LDP in the July 2004 upper house elections. While the coalition retained its majority, and the LDP remained the largest party, the opposition DPJ narrowly won the largest number of the contested seats. This was considered a setback, and reflective of the Prime Minister's decline in popularity, but Koizumi refused to resign.[9] Two months after the election, Koizumi conducted the first reshuffle of his second cabinet in an attempt to improve his popularity, he changed several key ministers, but kept his key economic team in place.[10][11]

The centrepiece of Koizumi's economic programme, which he referred to as the "inner citadel of reform", was his plan to privatize the postal service, then the world's largest bank with 2 trillion dollars' worth of assets.[12][13] This plan was deeply unpopular with many LDP members, for whom the postal service formed a large part of their base, and it was not until Koizumi's second term that his government was able to finalize the bills and introduced them into the Diet (although the LDP itself did not endorse them).[14] Although the LDP-Komeito coalition enjoyed a lower house majority of nearly 80, when the vote finally occurred a large party rebellion saw the postal bills pass by only 5 votes in July 2005.[15] When the plan was subsequently rejected by the House of Councillors, Koizumi immediately dissolved the Diet and called a snap election for September 2005, refused to endorse the postal rebels, and pledged to resign unless his government was returned with a majority to implement the reform.[16][17] In the election, the LDP won a landslide victory, and Koizumi was re-elected to form his third cabinet in September 2005.[18]

Election of the prime minister

Lists of ministers

  Liberal Democratic
  New Komeito
  Independent
R = Member of the House of Representatives
C = Member of the House of Councillors

Cabinet

Changes

Reshuffled cabinet

Changes

References

  1. ^ "Japanese poll ushers in two-party system". Taipaei Time. 11 November 2003. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ Yoshida, Reiji (11 November 2003). "NCP to disband, merge with LDP". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Koizumi wins second term". CNN. 19 November 2003. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Japanese Prime Minister re-elected but support for Iraq takes its toll". The Independent. 10 November 2003. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ Joyce, Colin (10 December 2003). "Japan Cabinet OKs Troops for Iraq". LA Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ Wallace, Bruce (14 June 2004). "Japan Debates Soldiers in Iraq". LA Times. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ "Japan approves pension reforms". BBC News. 11 May 2004. Archived from the original on 9 March 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Fukuda resigns from Cabinet". The Japan Times. 8 May 2004. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Wallace, Bruce (14 July 2004). "Koizumi Unfazed by Vote Losses". LA Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ Faiola, Anthony (28 September 2004). "Koizumi Replaces Key Ministers". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ Mcavoy, Audrey (26 September 2004). "Koizumi using reshuffle to strengthen his position". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ Uchiyama, Yu (2010-04-05). Koizumi and Japanese Politics. Routledge. p. 1. ISBN 9781135149710. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  13. ^ MAGNIER, MARK (24 April 2001). "Maverick Looks Set to Be Japan's Prime Minister". LA Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ "Cabinet as planned OKs posts reforms, LDP blessing or no". The Japan Times. 11 September 2004. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ "Koizumi wins postal reform vote". BBC News. 5 July 2005. Archived from the original on 2 March 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ^ KAJIMOTO, TETSUSHI (9 August 2005). "Koizumi calls election for Sept. 11". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2005. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. ^ "Japanese PM calls snap election". BBC News. 8 August 2005. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ Faiola, Anthony (12 September 2005). "Japan's Koizumi Wins a Landslide Mandate for Change". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ Yoshida, Reiji (11 November 2003). "NCP to disband, merge with LDP". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ "Japan minister quits over scandal". BBC News. 7 May 2004. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. ^ "Fukuda resigns from Cabinet". The Japan Times. 8 May 2004. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. ^ "Heizo TAKENAKA Bio". Kantei. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  23. ^ Faiola, Anthony (9 August 2005). "Japan's Koizumi Calls New Elections in Bid to Win Mandate for Reform". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ Shinoda, Tomohito (2013-05-14). Contemporary Japanese Politics: Institutional Changes and Power Shifts. p. 99. ISBN 9780231528061. Retrieved 10 December 2016.

External links

Pages at the Kantei (English website):