Looking at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's popularity and its spillover effect on the Liberal Democratic Party, one has to be impressed. Recent highly popular actions, such as the prime minister's decision not to challenge a court decision awarding compensation to leprosy victims, only add to the notoriety and bolster his support among the people. But the current boom could ebb as fast as it arose. Keeping his party in power and maintaining support when decisions are undertaken is yet another matter.

Taking a closer look at the "new" LDP, one comes to the conclusion that all is not well. Koizumi is interesting and has a personality. But being interesting is not the same as being influential and having a personality is not the same as having power. Key members of the old guard have voiced various criticisms toward the prime minister and certain Cabinet officials. The election in July is very important but so is the long-term survival of the party. One could almost paraphrase Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade":

Half a league, Half a league, Half a league onward. All in the Valley of Death Rode the six hundred . . .