'People Believe I Can Change Japan'

AN STYLE="font-size: 75%; color:#990000; font-weight:bold">Tuesday, Apr. 24, 2001 Junichiro Koizumi, elected president of Japan's dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Tuesday, was named the country's Prime Minister Thursday. During a frenetic campaign to woo LDP members last week, 59-year-old Koizumi spoke to TIME Tokyo bureau chief Tim Larimer and reporter Sachiko Sakamaki. Edited excerpts:

You say you are going to change Japan. How?
My number one priority is to change Japan's system of factional politics. I will stop selecting cabinet members based on factions; I will select the right person for the right position. That's the most important thing.

Polls show you far and away to be the most popular LDP candidate. Why?
People are tired of the LDP. They believe I can change the LDP, and change Japan. They feel the party is no good if it continues like this.

But you've been part of the LDP for more than 25 years. How have you managed to position yourself as the anti-LDP candidate?
That's the interesting thing about the LDP. I'm popular because I'm not a typical LDP member.

They call you "henjin" (weirdo)...
Extraordinary!

Do you deliberately do and say things to enhance that henjin image?
I care more about the voters than I do for LDP members. For example, I propose a public voting system to elect the Prime Minister, but LDP members don't like that.

If you become Prime Minister, what's the first thing you will do?
I will appoint a cabinet the public can trust and support, free of factionalism.

Who will be your Finance Minister?
I cannot say now.

How will you keep the support of the LDP's coalition partners?
I attach importance to our relationship with the New Komeito and New Conservative Party. And with the policies I represent, I don't think they will oppose me.

You, outgoing Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, and prime ministerial rivals Ryutaro Hashimoto and Shizuka Kamei are all in the same party. Yet your policies and ideas have very little in common. Doesn't this show that the LDP is like a fossil?
Once I become president of the LDP it will change. My view is that the previous Prime Ministers did not exercise their valid power. Sometimes the country's bureaucrats agree over something, and the LDP is opposed to it. But if for instance the Prime Minister decides with a firm conviction that the postal system should be privatized, then the bureaucrats won't oppose it. And once the bureaucrats support it, the LDP won't oppose.

So through sheer force of personality you will persuade everyone else to your way of thinking?
What is the source of power of the leadership of the Prime Minister? It's the public support. Once a Prime Minister presents a new direction backed by public support, then the LDP Diet (parliament) members cannot be opposed to it.

Hashimoto instituted fiscal reforms when he was Prime Minister and he was very unpopular. So what makes you think you can be a reformer and remain popular?
Hashimoto's plan and my plan are quite different.

How do you distinguish your brand of reform from Hashimoto's brand of reform?
Look at certain social security reforms. Hashimoto postponed some reforms past their deadlines. He opposed privatizing the post office, for instance.

Turning to foreign policy, is it time for Japan to reconsider the terms of its relationship with the U.S., particularly regarding the deployment of American troops in Japan?
The U.S. relationship is the most important thing to Japan and is the cornerstone of our foreign policy.

Is Japan too subservient to the U.S.?
Of course Japan is an independent country. But having a friendly relationship is not the same thing as being submissive.

During the U.S.-China spy plane incident, Japan remained quiet. If you had been Prime Minister then, what would you have done?
Japan does not have power to intervene, and it was not directly related to Japan, so I would not have gotten involved.

Does it concern you that some Japanese schoolchildren might learn a distorted, whitewashed view of Japan's role in World War II?
This issue does not relate to just one textbook. Various kinds of people are producing various kinds of textbooks and expression various opinions. We have a textbook approval system in Japan, which aims to produce unbiased material. So we should leave it to the system.

Outside the parliament building right now, Koreans are protesting over this textbook issue...
Korea and China are free to criticize Japan, but I don't think Japan needs to be controlled by what they think.

Does Japan need to apologize to its Asian neighbors over its World War II atrocities?
Rather than focusing on the past, I feel we need to promote forward-looking relationships. It's two different things to reflect upon our behavior and keep on apologizing. We have already apologized.

What is the last book you've read?
It's a historical novel on revenge killings (among samurai), by the famous author Akira Yoshimura.

What's the best film you've seen in the last year?
"Hurricane," with Denzel Washington. I also liked "The Legend of Bagger Vance," with Matt Damon.

They are both sports films. Are you a sports fan?
I used to play baseball. Now I only watch.

What position?
Third base.

Are you a Tokyo Giants fan?
No. I'm anti-Giants!

So which team do you like?
I like the Yokohama Bay Stars.

Why?
They're my constituents!

What do you think about Japanese sportsmen like Ichiro Suzuki playing in the U.S. major leagues?
The Japanese dream of playing in America. And I'm very happy they can play equally with American players. We used to think the Americans played at a much higher level. The national sport in Japan is sumo, but Japanese love baseball better -- it's become their national sport as well.

What do you think about the news that Crown Princess Masako is apparently pregnant?
It's the only happy news that I've heard recently. They must be confident that the probability she is pregnant is high.

What effect would the birth of a prince or princess have on Japanese?
We hope it will lead to a baby boom!