During the past three days of Diet debates, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi led the charge for structural reform, taking the steam out of opposition attacks. The political dynamics in the Diet seemed to have changed suddenly, with the opposition sometimes having to go on the defensive against the enormously popular prime minister. Mr. Koizumi has unquestionably brought a breath of fresh air, at least for now, into a Parliament that has long been the object of public cynicism about politics.

With the prime minister carrying the reform banner, the opposition parties faced a dilemma. If they had opposed him outright, they would have lost public support. But if they had supported him too readily, their public image as a credible opposition would have been tarnished. To get around that dilemma, they criticized Mr. Koizumi for "avoiding specifics" while praising his courage. They also tried to undercut his populist image by playing up his attempt to revise the Constitution as well as his "hawkish" disposition.

The opposition "offensive" was halfhearted at best. If anything, the three-day debate in both Houses brought into sharp relief an opposition suddenly adrift, with no alternative reform program of its own. If that is the case, they need to urgently reconsider their political strategy.