“He is going to be stronger than ever before if he scores as big a victory as looks likely, and that means that if he can come up with substantive reform policies, he has a very good chance of getting them passed.”
“This election shows how Koizumi is in a league of his own in his political skills and media savvy. He did the impossible. He managed to convince the electorate that his party, which was opposed to his own reforms, was for change, and that the Democratic Party, which was a party founded for reform, was against change.”
“[The good news first. The economy has been picking up. Corporate profits are high, banks have begun to lend again and investors (especially optimistic foreigners) have been piling into Japanese stocks with abandon, pushing Tokyo markets to four-year highs. Koizumi can claim at least part of the credit, thanks to his cleanup of the moribund banking sector and his refusal to succumb to the sort of pump-priming public-works programs favored by his predecessors. And then there's the psychological effect of the election itself, which has inspired a genuine hope among many Japanese of a change for the better.] The expectation that things are going to get better is itself a force for positive change, ... That in itself creates a positive boost to the economy.”
“He wants to change the party so that it doesn't rely on the old factional political machines but becomes a more modern party that appeals based on policies,”
“He's accomplished the impossible, ... He's turned the DPJ ... into a party that's against change, and he's turned LDP, a party that's resisted (change), into the symbol of reform.”
“They had their shot and they blew it, ... The LDP was and still is ready to be overthrown — the problem is it's been overthrown by its own president rather than the opposition.”
