With the government's decision to scrap or privatize seven key public corporations, including four highway corporations, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has cleared a major hurdle on the road to "structural reform with no sanctuary." Now his battle against the "resistance forces" -- the old guard of his Liberal Democratic Party -- is about to enter the second stage.
Over the past six months in office, the Koizumi administration has been trying hard to snatch control of the policymaking process from the LDP. With the ruling party sticking to its traditional "politics of coordination," Koizumi has opted for the "top-to-bottom" approach in an effort to assert his leadership.
Recently Koizumi instructed an LDP strategy group to draw up a game plan to centralize the policymaking process in the Cabinet. Obviously his aim is to make the Cabinet a "strategic weapon" to beat opponents in the party.