Elvis impersonator? Japan's Thatcher? Faction buster? Nah, as the curtain falls on the Koizumi show, he will be remembered above all for his missed opportunities and self-indulgent gestures at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo -- that, and steamrollering the Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9 into oblivion.
At a time when one of the most critical issues facing Japan is the startling emergence of China as a superpower, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi single-handedly derailed bilateral relations and postponed a critical top-level dialogue between Asia's main powers. As Japan's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council imploded, territorial disputes festered, and China proved conspicuously unhelpful on North Korean missile launches, the costs of alienating Beijing are clear. Climbing out of this deep hole is his successor's daunting challenge.
Koizumi is one of those savvy politicians who bowed out on his own terms and did not overstay his welcome. The contrast with Tony Blair's tragic farce is instructive. He will, by choice, fade quickly into the background. There, perhaps, he will enjoy some solitude, since his only private moments since he assumed Japan's highest office on April 26, 2001 seem to have been during his annual pilgrimages to Yasukuni Shrine on the occasions he disingenuously went there as a "private citizen."