By passing expressway legislation that omitted a key part of privatization panel's suggestions, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's political 'style' may now be under scrutiny by politicians and the general public.
Kazuaki Tanaka, former acting chairman of the prime minister's advisory panel for the privatization of four expressway corporations, is absolutely furious. Not only is he unsatisfied with the contents of the recent expressway reform legislation, but he is disgusted with how the process leading to the legislation was handled by politicians, government bureaucrats and, most of all, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Koizumi's conduct has left Tanaka doubting whether the prime minister is serious enough about structural reform or even reliable as a politician and national leader.