Political Elvis.

• Author: Rimensnyder, Sara
• Position: Junichiro Koizumi, Japan - Brief Article

Imagine an amalgamation of Margaret Thatcher, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, and Elvis Presley. Can't quite see it? Visit Japan.

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi--who presides over the world's second-largest economy--may be just such a creature. He's a privatization promoter, supply-sider, and e-zine auteur. And a rising pop culture icon.

Last April, Koizumi became Japan's eighth prime minister in 10 years. Unlike his quickly dispatched predecessors, he is enjoying favorable ratings that zoom upward of 80 percent. His smile beams from T-shirts, coffee mugs, and collectible plates as Japanese citizens celebrate a leader who they hope can finally pull their nation out of its long economic slump.

They also like his e-zine, Lion Heart, which boasts I million e-mail subscribers. In it, Koizumi discusses ministry activity but also waxes philosophical on the personal toll of political fame: "I am a 24-hour bird in a cage."

The public stands by him even though the economic restructuring Koizumi has promised is likely to worsen unemployment in the near term. (He openly advocates "structural reform with no sacred cows.") Unemployment currently hovers around 5 percent, high by Japanese standards. Part of Koizumi's massive popularity no doubt arises from promises to create a social safety net to help the jobless.

The only group that appears alarmed so far is his fellow pols and bureaucrats, who are stunned by proposals to trim...