Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is committed to breaking up factions in his Liberal Democratic Party. "You'll see that I'm determined to eliminate the factions," he told reporters immediately before he started forming his Cabinet. He had just reshuffled the lineup of party executives by appointing men who did not belong to the faction headed by former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, the party's largest.

True to his word, Koizumi stayed clear of factional influences in assembling his Cabinet. He avoided the traditional practice of keeping a factional balance by means of revolving-door appointments based on seniority. In fact, his team includes a number of young ministers in their 40s and private-sector experts, as well as five women, an all-time record.

The fresh Cabinet lineup sent his public-approval ratings soaring to around 80 percent. However, such ratings are transitory. They will drop sharply if he betrays public expectations. In the United States, a new administration traditionally enjoys a honeymoon of about three months. Here in Japan, politics is subject to wild swings in public sentiment. People tend to demand quick results.