Tokyo
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi moved quickly this week to push a tough, reformist agenda after easily winning re-election as leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Koizumi surprised many political observers by appointing a Cabinet dominated by economic reformers, including his controversial banking czar, Heizo Takenaka. Takenaka has helped push a policy of forcing Japan’s troubled banks to write off their nonperforming loans. Many among Japan’s insular financial and political elite have opposed such bitter medicine. In another key appointment, the prime minister named Sadakazu Tanigaki, a 58-year-old lawyer, to replace his ailing finance minister. Tanigaki is expected to try to tame the nation’s staggering debt by cutting spending and raising revenues.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
