Koizumi DiplomacyJapan's policymaking strategy in foreign and defense affairs changed dramatically in 2001 after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took the helm of the long ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Following a series of bland and short lived prime ministers, Koizumi's infusion of fresh energy into a tired and opaque party has been compared with Tony Blair's successful revamping of New Labour in the U. K. Koizumi, however, had a weak power base in the party and