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Koizumi changed the way that Japanese politics was played. When he first came to power, with grand plans and tough talk about structural reform, he was a new and strange kind of Japanese politician. He spoke directly to the people, relying more on his image, ideas and popular support than on currying favor with party insiders. That gave him the independence that enabled him to boast he would pursue his structural-reform agenda "without sanctuary," even if it meant destroying his own LDP, which had long been wedded to the pork-barrel politics he was assailing. In some ways, the LDP's old-boys network was more resilient than expected, making Koizumi's reform record decidedly mixed. But he managed to hold on to power (he will retire as the third-longest-serving Premier of the postwar era) by never losing his popular support.
Superficially, his impact on politics was enormous. After Koizumi's initial success, the LDP and its rival, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), started hiring American public-relations firms, image consultants and campaign managers. They pushed younger, better-looking candidates to the forefront, reminding them that dandruff and ill-fitting suits turned voters off. But for all the image burnishing, few genuinely charismatic leaders have emerged in Koizumi's wake. "No one there now can bring the razzle dazzle the way he could," says Jeff Kingston, a professor of history at Temple University's Tokyo campus. "While campaign styles have changed for good, without his independence, you'll probably see the factions make a small comeback." Koizumi's departure will provide the DPJ its best chance yet to become a credible opposition party. Though pundits have long been predicting the dawn of true, two-party politics in Japan, the DPJ has been consistently stymied by both its own disorganization and voters' overwhelming endorsement of Koizumi. Now one of those obstacles is out of the way.