TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has demonstrated that he is a brilliant politician. His resounding victory in the Sept. 11 Lower House Diet elections provides him with an opportunity to demonstrate his brilliance as an international statesman as well.

If Koizumi really does step down as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and hence as prime minister next year as promised (and as called for under party guidelines), he will have much to look back upon with pride, both domestically and internationally. He has moved Japan steadily along the road toward becoming a "normal nation" more willing and able to play an active role in international security affairs, putting "boots on the ground" in Iraq (in a reconstruction mode) and personally negotiating the release of Japanese citizens and their families long held hostage by Pyongyang. He has also moved Tokyo a step closer to a much-deserved seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), even if this effort thus far remains short of its ultimate goal.

One thing Koizumi will not be able to claim credit for, however, is better relations with Japan's two closest and most important neighbors. By almost any measurement, Tokyo's relations with Beijing and Seoul are considerably worse today than when Koizumi assumed office. While his Korean and Chinese counterparts must share the blame for the deterioration, primary responsibility rests with Koizumi himself. More importantly, the opportunity to reverse current downward trends also resides in the Japanese prime minister's hands, if he is willing to be as bold a diplomat as he has been a politician.