First Koizumi Cabinet
| First Koizumi Cabinet | |
|---|---|
 87th cabinet of Japan |
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| Date formed | April 26, 2001 |
| Date dissolved | November 19, 2003 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of government | Junichiro Koizumi |
| Head of state | Emperor Akihito |
| Member party | LDP-NKP-NCP coalition |
| Status in legislature | Majority coalition |
| Opposition party | Democratic Party of Japan |
| Opposition leader |
Yukio Hatoyama (2001-2002) Naoto Kan (2002-2003) |
| History | |
| Election(s) | 2001 councillors election |
| Predecessor | Second Mori Cabinet |
| Successor | Second Koizumi Cabinet |
The First Koizumi Cabinet governed Japan from April 2001 until November 2003 under the leadership of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who came to power after winning a surprise victory in the LDP presidential election of 2001. The cabinet continued the LDP-Komeito-NCP coalition and contained a record number of 5 women, including Makiko Tanaka as the first female Foreign Minister. Several ministers from the previous Mori Administration remained in office to ensure the continuity and stability of government. Unusually for an LDP leader, Koizumi chose his cabinet himself and personally asked ministers to join the government, unlike previous practice where party factional leaders often chose government posts.
Koizumi took office at a time of prolonged economic difficulties for Japan after the first "Lost Decade", including a banking sector affected by "bad loans". His policies promised bold structural reforms to economic, administrative and social policy using the slogans "reform with no sacred areas" and "without structural reforms there can be no economic recovery", explaining that he expected the country to endure short-term hardship, including higher unemployment, to make longer-term economic gains. Despite these promises of initial economic difficulties, the Koizumi cabinet enjoyed record popularity during its first year (reaching 90 percent in some polls), and the LDP gained several seats in the June 2001 upper house elections.
Koizumi's popularity declined significantly in early 2002 after he sacked Tanaka for disloyalty and for feuding with bureaucrats, and a series of scandals relating to the agriculture and foreign ministries came to light. In response, Koizumi ordered a quickening of the pace in terms of structural reform plans and made a highly-publicised visit to North Korea in the autumn to discuss abducted Japanese citizens, which led to a recovery in his poll ratings. The first cabinet reshuffle then took place in September 2002 and did not bring about any major personnel changes, but did remove Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa, who Koizumi felt was too timid on economic reform.
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