Looking back on Japanese politics in 2003, two events stand out from all others: One is November's general election, which brought the two-party system a step closer to reality. The other is the government's decision earlier this month to send Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq on a humanitarian mission. Both events may well go down as a turning point for Japan.
The election -- the first general election since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took office in April 2001 -- was carefully planned by Mr. Koizumi and his aides. In September, immediately after winning a second term as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, he reshuffled party executives and Cabinet ministers in a bid to lock up a solid victory for the party.
Mr. Koizumi's popularity was the most potent of his political weapons. Public approval that continued at fairly high levels of 50 to 60 percent at the time appeared to boost the chances of an LDP triumph. To make doubly sure that the party would win big, he named his younger, popular aide, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, as the party's secretary general -- a surprise move that ignored the traditional rule of making promotions according to seniority.