Junichiro Koizumi

Visits to Yasukuni Shrine
Koizumi has often been noted for his controversial visits to the Yasukuni Shrine starting on 13 August 2001. Koizumi was re-elected in 2003 and his popularity surged as the economy recovered. In China the visits led to massive anti-Japanese riots.

Koizumi was the third longest serving prime minister in the history of Japan. His visits to Yasukuni Shrine led to diplomatic tensions with neighboring China and South Korea. Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) he became known as an economic reformer focusing on Japan's government debt and the privatization of its postal service.