Second Koizumi Cabinet

The Second Koizumi Cabinet was the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during his second term from November 2003 to September 2005. The cabinet was formed after the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito was re-elected with a slightly reduced majority at the November 2003 general elections. The LDP lost 10 of its pre-election seats to become a minority in the National Diet, but immediately regained a majority by absorbing its coalition partner, the New Conservative Party.[1][2] Koizumi had reshuffled the cabinet less than two months before the election, and so made no changes when he was re-elected by the Diet on November 19.[3]

Second Koizumi Cabinet
88th Cabinet of Japan
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (front row, centre) with the re-elected cabinet inside the Kantei, November 19, 2003
Date formed	November 19, 2003
Date dissolved	September 21, 2005
People and organisations
Head of state	Emperor Akihito
Head of government	Junichiro Koizumi
Member party	LDP-NKP Majority coalition
Status in legislature	Coalition Majority
Opposition party	Democratic Party of Japan
Opposition leader	Naoto Kan (2003-2004) Katsuya Okada (2004-2005)
History
Election(s)	2003 general election 2004 councillors election
Predecessor	First Koizumi Cabinet
Successor	Third Koizumi Cabinet

Political background

Koizumi had promised that if re-elected he would send the Self-Defence Forces to Iraq to assist with reconstruction before the end of the year, a pledge which proved unpopular during the election.[4] One month into his second term, the cabinet approved the dispatch, and the SDF joined UN peacekeeping forces in Iraq in 2004, though this action continued to damage Koizumi's standing, with polls showing the public opposed.[5][6] The Koizumi cabinet's policies of structural economic reforms continued during its second term, some of which proved controversial. In the spring of 2004 the government introduced reforms designed to cut pension costs by reducing state benefits and increasing user costs.[7] This policy was not only unpopular, but cost Koizumi a minister when Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda resigned after it was revealed he had failed to make his payments.[8]

The political fallout from Iraq and the pension reforms led to poor results for the LDP in the July 2004 upper house elections. While the coalition retained its majority, and the LDP remained the largest party, the opposition DPJ narrowly won the largest number of the contested seats. This was considered a setback, and reflective of the Prime Minister's decline in popularity, but Koizumi refused to resign.[9] Two months after the election, Koizumi conducted the first reshuffle of his second cabinet in an attempt to improve his popularity, he changed several key ministers, but kept his key economic team in place.[10][11]

The centrepiece of Koizumi's economic programme, which he referred to as the "inner citadel of reform", was his plan to privatize the postal service, then the world's largest bank with 2 trillion dollars' worth of assets.[12][13] This plan was deeply unpopular with many LDP members, for whom the postal service formed a large part of their base, and it was not until Koizumi's second term that his government was able to finalize the bills and introduced them into the Diet (although the LDP itself did not endorse them).[14] Although the LDP-Komeito coalition enjoyed a lower house majority of nearly 80, when the vote finally occurred a large party rebellion saw the postal bills pass by only 5 votes in July 2005.[15] When the plan was subsequently rejected by the House of Councillors, Koizumi immediately dissolved the Diet and called a snap election for September 2005, refused to endorse the postal rebels, and pledged to resign unless his government was returned with a majority to implement the reform.[16][17] In the election, the LDP won a landslide victory, and Koizumi was re-elected to form his third cabinet in September 2005.[18]

Election of the Prime Minister

19 November 2003

House of Representatives Absolute majority (241/480) required
Choice		First Vote
		Votes
	YJunichiro Koizumi	281 / 480
	Naoto Kan	186 / 480
	Others and Abstentions (Including blank ballots)	13 / 480
Source Diet Minutes - 158th Session

Lists of Ministers

  Liberal Democratic
  New Komeito
  Independent
R = Member of the House of Representatives
C = Member of the House of Councillors

Cabinet

Second Koizumi Cabinet from November 19, 2003 to September 27, 2004

Portfolio	Minister			Term of Office
Prime Minister		Junichiro Koizumi	R	April 26, 2001 - September 26, 2006
Minister for Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications		Tarō Asō	R	September 22, 2003 - October 31, 2005
Minister of Justice		Daizō Nozawa	C	September 22, 2003 - September 27, 2004
Minister of Foreign Affairs		Yoriko Kawaguchi	-	February 1, 2002 - September 27, 2004
Minister of Finance		Sadakazu Tanigaki	R	September 22, 2003 - September 26, 2006
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology		Takeo Kawamura	R	September 22, 2003 - September 27, 2004
Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare		Chikara Sakaguchi	R	January 6, 2001 - September 27, 2004
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries		Yoshiyuki Kamei	R	April 1, 2003 - September 27, 2004
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry		Shōichi Nakagawa	R	September 22, 2003 - October 31, 2005
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism		Nobuteru Ishihara	R	September 22, 2003 - September 27, 2004
Minister of the Environment		Yuriko Koike	R	September 22, 2003 - September 26, 2006
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister for Gender Equality		Yasuo Fukuda	R	October 27, 2000 - May 7, 2004
		Hiroyuki Hosoda	R	May 7, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Director of the National Public Safety Commission		Kiyoko Ono	C	September 22, 2003 - September 27, 2004
Director of the Japan Defense Agency		Shigeru Ishiba	R	September 30, 2002 - September 27, 2004
Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs Minister of State (Science and Technology Policy) Minister of State for Personal Information Protection		Toshimitsu Motegi	R	September 22, 2003 - September 27, 2004
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister of State for Financial Services		Heizō Takenaka	-	April 26, 2001 - October 31, 2005
Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Minister of State for Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan Minister of State for Administrative Reform Minister of State for Special Zones for Structural Reform Minister of State for Regional Revitalization		Kazuyoshi Kaneko	R	September 22, 2003 - September 27, 2004
Minister for Disaster Management Minister of State for National Emergency Legislation		Kiichi Inoue	R	September 22, 2003 - September 27, 2004
Deputy Secretaries
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political Affairs - House of Representatives)		Hiroyuki Hosoda	R	September 22, 2003 - May 7, 2004
		Seiken Sugiura	R	May 7, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political Affairs - House of Councillors)		Masaaki Yamazaki	C	September 22, 2003 - October 31, 2005
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Bureaucrat)		Masahiro Futahashi	-	September 22, 2003 - September 26, 2006

Changes

• November 21 - The New Conservative Party formally dissolved. Its members joined the LDP and remained in government.[19]
• May 7, 2004 - Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda resigned from the cabinet after a controversy in which it was revealed that he and several other ministers had failed to pay mandatory pension contributions, at a time when the government was attempting to pass contentious pension reforms. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda was promoted to replace him, and he in turn was replaced with Seiken Sugiura.[20][21]
• July 2004 - Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Heizō Takenaka entered the Diet for the first time when he won a seat in the House of Councillors election.[22]

Reshuffled Cabinet

PM Koizumi with his reshuffled cabinet inside the Kantei, September 27, 2004.

Second Koizumi Cabinet from September 27, 2004 to September 21, 2005

Portfolio	Minister			Term of Office
Prime Minister		Junichiro Koizumi	R	April 26, 2001 - September 26, 2006
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications		Tarō Asō	R	September 22, 2003 - October 31, 2005
Minister of Justice Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Measures for Declining Birthrate		Chieko Nōno	C	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Minister of Foreign Affairs		Nobutaka Machimura	R	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Minister of Finance		Sadakazu Tanigaki	R	September 22, 2003 - September 26, 2006
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology		Nariaki Nakayama	R	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare		Hidehisa Otsuji	C	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries		Yoshinobu Shimamura	R	September 27, 2004 - August 8, 2005
		Junichiro Koizumi	R	August 8, 2005 - August 11, 2005
		Mineichi Iwanaga	R	August 11, 2005 - October 31, 2005
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry		Shōichi Nakagawa	R	September 22, 2003 - October 31, 2005
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism		Kazuo Kitagawa	R	September 27, 2004 - September 26, 2006
Minister of the Environment Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs		Yuriko Koike	R	September 22, 2003 - September 26, 2006
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister for Gender Equality		Hiroyuki Hosoda	R	May 7, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Director of the National Public Safety Commission Minister for Disaster Management Minister of State for National Emergency Legislation		Yoshitaka Murata	R	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Director of the Japan Defense Agency		Yoshinori Ohno	R	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Minister of State for Financial Services		Tatsuya Ito	R	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister of State for Privatization of the Postal Services		Heizō Takenaka	C	April 26, 2001 - October 31, 2005
Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Minister of State for Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan Minister of State for Administrative Reform Minister of State for Special Zones for Structural Reform Minister of State for Regional Revitalization		Seiichiro Murakami	R	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Minister of State (Science and Technology Policy) Minister of State for Food Protection Minister of State for Information Technology		Yasufumi Tanahashi	R	September 27, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Deputy Secretaries
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political Affairs - House of Representatives)		Seiken Sugiura	R	May 7, 2004 - October 31, 2005
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political Affairs - House of Councillors)		Masaaki Yamazaki	C	September 22, 2003 - October 31, 2005
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Bureaucrat)		Masahiro Futahashi	-	September 22, 2003 - September 26, 2006

Changes

• August 8, 2005 - Agriculture Minister Yoshinobu Shimamura was dismissed for his opposition to the dissolution of the House of Representatives over the postal privatisation bills. He was replaced with Mineichi Iwanaga.[23][24]

References

1. "Japanese poll ushers in two-party system". Taipaei Time. 11 November 2003. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
2. Yoshida, Reiji (11 November 2003). "NCP to disband, merge with LDP". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
3. "Koizumi wins second term". CNN. 19 November 2003. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
4. "Japanese Prime Minister re-elected but support for Iraq takes its toll". The Independent. 10 November 2003. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
5. Joyce, Colin (10 December 2003). "Japan Cabinet OKs Troops for Iraq". LA Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
6. Wallace, Bruce (14 June 2004). "Japan Debates Soldiers in Iraq". LA Times. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
7. "Japan approves pension reforms". BBC News. 11 May 2004. Archived from the original on 9 March 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
8. "Fukuda resigns from Cabinet". The Japan Times. 8 May 2004. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
9. Wallace, Bruce (14 July 2004). "Koizumi Unfazed by Vote Losses". LA Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
10. Faiola, Anthony (28 September 2004). "Koizumi Replaces Key Ministers". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
11. Mcavoy, Audrey (26 September 2004). "Koizumi using reshuffle to strengthen his position". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
12. Uchiyama, Yu (2010-04-05). Koizumi and Japanese Politics. Routledge. p. 1. ISBN 9781135149710. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
13. MAGNIER, MARK (24 April 2001). "Maverick Looks Set to Be Japan's Prime Minister". LA Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
14. "Cabinet as planned OKs posts reforms, LDP blessing or no". The Japan Times. 11 September 2004. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
15. "Koizumi wins postal reform vote". BBC News. 5 July 2005. Archived from the original on 2 March 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
16. KAJIMOTO, TETSUSHI (9 August 2005). "Koizumi calls election for Sept. 11". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2005. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
17. "Japanese PM calls snap election". BBC News. 8 August 2005. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
18. Faiola, Anthony (12 September 2005). "Japan's Koizumi Wins a Landslide Mandate for Change". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
19. Yoshida, Reiji (11 November 2003). "NCP to disband, merge with LDP". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
20. "Japan minister quits over scandal". BBC News. 7 May 2004. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
21. "Fukuda resigns from Cabinet". The Japan Times. 8 May 2004. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
22. "Heizo TAKENAKA Bio". Kantei. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
23. Faiola, Anthony (9 August 2005). "Japan's Koizumi Calls New Elections in Bid to Win Mandate for Reform". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
24. Shinoda, Tomohito (2013-05-14). Contemporary Japanese Politics: Institutional Changes and Power Shifts. p. 99. ISBN 9780231528061. Retrieved 10 December 2016.

External links

Pages at the Kantei (English website):

• Koizumi Administration
• List of Ministers
• (Reshuffled)