Japan's new premier

The landslide victory of reformist Junichiro Koizumi over the much favored former prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election, and hence the country's premiership contest, is living proof that most Japanese people want to see significant change in their country's policy.

Pledging change in his acceptance speech as LDP's new leader, 59-year-old Koizumi said that, under his administration, politics would be conducted by every Japanese person, and not merely by a handful of politicians and party officials, so as to meet the people's expectations.

"The result showed that people strongly demanded a change in the LDP," commented a noted political analyst of the Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.

It remains to be seen, however, whether Koizumi will be able to translate his promise into reality and if his administration can bring about quick economic recovery to his country.

Many countries in this region welcomed Koizumi's victory with the expectation that he would implement reform measures and undertake changes he promised during his electoral campaign. Many believe that one of the hardest tasks he will have to undertake is the restructuring of his country's ailing banking sector that has slowed down, if not obstructed, Japan's economic growth over the past three years.

These countries' expectations are justified since prosperity and significant growth in Japan, the world's second largest economic power after the United States, will have a great impact on other regional economies, particularly on its Southeast Asian neighbors who may wish to boost their exports to Japan in their bid to step up their own growth.

A few of Japan's neighbors, particularly China and South and North Koreas, however, will warily watch the change in Japan's foreign policy under Koizumi, who has said that he will visit, in an official capacity, the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. A visit by any Japanese official to the shrine -- a memorial for Japanese troops killed in the wars since the 19th century, including convicted war criminals -- is seen by many Asian countries as a sign of revival of Japan's militarism and an unfriendly gesture toward them.

A number of Japan's neighboring countries, whose millions of people were made to suffer during Japanese aggression in World War II, have protested and some even condemned such a visit.

This is made even worse considering that Koizumi's remarks about visiting the shrine came only weeks after the Tokyo government had approved the controversial revision of a high school history textbook, which Japan's neighboring countries believe glosses over the atrocities of Japanese occupation troops during the last World War.

Given all this, we believe that the new premier, even if he succeeds in making great strides in restoring Japan's economy, must be able to convince countries in the region that his nationalist flavor will not lead Tokyo to another militaristic government. Because, no matter how prosperous a country may be, it will still suffer if it is made a pariah by neighbors who are suspicious of a possible revival of militarism in that country.