Changing politics and culture in Japan

politics/law — By Bob Riel on September 20, 2006 at 1:57 pm

Politics is as much connected to culture as is business, so it was interesting to read this story about how the outgoing Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, singlehandedly altered the political culture of the nation. In particular, he was notable for exuding charisma in an otherwise bland political climate, and for making decisions on his own in a culture that strongly values consensus.

“The conventional wisdom was that Japanese prime ministers were inherently incapable of exerting leadership,” said Takeshi Sasaki, a political scientist at Gakushuin University and a former president of the University of Tokyo. “But Koizumi exercised leadership with great tenacity and tried many new things – things that prime ministers had not said or done until now.”

Unlike his predecessors, Mr. Koizumi eschewed the compromises that had led to paralysis. In a society that values consensus, he was famous for making decisions on his own and seemed to excel in making political enemies. He was – in the words of his first foreign minister, Makiko Tanaka – a “weirdo.”

And the public loved him. Each time voters had a chance to choose between him and Japan’s old-fashioned politicians and bureaucrats, they backed him in large numbers.

In a related story, Japan’s governing party has now chosen a successor to Koizumi. In September, Shinzo Abe will become the country’s new Prime Minister.