Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi (小泉 純一郎, Koizumi Jun'ichirō?, born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended in 2009.

Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the privatization of its postal service. In 2005, Koizumi led the LDP to win one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern Japanese history.

Koizumi also attracted international attention through his deployment of the Japan Self-Defense Forces to Iraq. His visits to Yasukuni Shrine led to diplomatic tensions with neighboring China and South Korea.

Koizumi was the third longest serving prime minister in the history of Japan. None of his successors have been able to keep the office for more than fifteen months.