Editing Junichiro Koizumi (section)

===Foreign policy===
[[File:President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan Shake Hands.jpg|thumb|Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi and U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] meet at the White House on 25 September 2001.]]
Although Koizumi's foreign policy was focused on closer relations with the United States and UN-centered diplomacy, which were adopted by all of his predecessors, he went further, supporting the US policies in the [[War on Terrorism]]. He decided to deploy the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] to Iraq, which was the first military mission in active foreign war zones since the end of the [[World War II]]. Many Japanese commentators indicated that the favorable US-Japan relation was based on the Koizumi's personal friendship with the US President [[George W. Bush]]. White House officials described the first meeting between Koizumi and Bush at Camp David as "incredibly warm", with the two men playing catch with a baseball.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chen|first1=Edwin|title=Bush Enjoys a Warm Meeting With Koizumi|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1 July 2001}}</ref> Since leaving office, he has defended his decision to send Japanese troops to Iraq.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-08-10 |title=Junichiro Koizumi: 'I'm not strange. I'm extraordinary' |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5b5a7770-9a3d-11e8-9702-5946bae86e6d |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5b5a7770-9a3d-11e8-9702-5946bae86e6d |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-07-09}}</ref> In the [[North Korean abductions of Japanese|North Korean abductions]] and nuclear development issues, Koizumi took more assertive attitudes than his predecessors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wwwa.cao.go.jp/notice/20191101notice.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711022730/http://www8.cao.go.jp/survey/tokubetu/h18/h18-jieitai.pdf|url-status=dead|title=内閣府ウェブサイトの常時暗号化による「https:」への切り替え – 内閣府|archive-date=11 July 2007|website=wwwa.cao.go.jp}}</ref>

====Self-Defense Forces policy====
Although Koizumi did not initially campaign on the issue of defense reform,<ref name="anderson"/> he approved the expansion of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] (JSDF) and in October 2001 they were given greater scope to operate outside of the country. Some of these troops were [[Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group|dispatched to Iraq]]. Koizumi's government also introduced a bill to upgrade the [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Defense Agency]] to ministry status; finally, the Defense Agency became the Japanese [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Ministry of Defense]] on 9 January 2007.<ref name="june06">"[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060617a7.html Diet closes for summer, puts lid on Koizumi legacy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606141128/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060617a7.html |date=June 6, 2011 }}," ''Japan Times'' (registration required), 17 June 2006.</ref>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:21apec5.jpg|thumbnail|right|Koizumi meeting with Chinese President [[Hu Jintao]] in 2004]] -->

====Visits to Yasukuni Shrine====
Koizumi has often been noted for his controversial visits to the [[Yasukuni Shrine]], starting on 13 August 2001. He visited the shrine six times as prime minister. Because the shrine honors Japan's war dead, which also include many convicted [[Japanese war criminals]] and 14 executed Class A [[war criminals]], these visits drew strong condemnation and protests from both Japan's neighbours, mainly China and South Korea, and many Japanese citizens. China and South Korea's people hold bitter memories of Japanese invasion and occupation during the first half of the 20th century. China and South Korea refused to have their representatives meet Koizumi in Japan and their countries. There were no mutual visits between Chinese and Japanese leaders from October 2001, and between South Korean and Japanese leaders from June 2005. The standstill ended when the next prime minister Abe visited China and South Korea in October 2006.

In China, the visits contributed to widespread anti-Japanese riots, which were also accompanied by other more peaceful [[2005 anti-Japanese demonstrations|large anti-Japan demonstrations across East Asia]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Asia press concern at China-Japan row |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4476099.stm |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=BBC News |date=23 April 2005}}</ref> The president, ruling and opposition parties, and much of the media of South Korea openly condemned Koizumi's pilgrimages.<ref>
"[https://archive.today/20130104054337/http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=044&article_id=0000023828&section_id=108&menu_id=108 Lawmakers visit Japanese Embassy to protest Koizumi's planned Seoul trip]," ''The Korea Herald'', 12 October 2001.</ref> Many Koreans applauded the president's speeches criticizing Japan, despite the [[Roh Moo-hyun|South Korean President's]] low popularity. When asked about the reaction, Koizumi said the speeches were "for the domestic (audience)".
[[File:Vladimir Putin 20 July 2001-6.jpg|thumb|Koizumi with [[Kofi Annan]], [[George W. Bush]] and [[Vladimir Putin]], 20 July 2001]]

Although Koizumi signed the shrine's visitor book as "Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister of Japan", he claimed that his visits were as a private citizen and not an endorsement of any political stance.<ref>"[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20060126a1.htm Koizumi not backing down on Yasukuni]," ''The Japan Times'' (registration required), 26 January 2006.</ref> China and Korea considered this excuse insufficient. Several journals and news reports in Japan, such as one published by Kyodo News Agency on 15 August 2006, questioned Koizumi's statement of private purpose, as he unreservedly recorded his position on the shrine's guestbook as prime minister. He visited the shrine annually in fulfillment of a campaign pledge. Koizumi's last visit as prime minister was on 15 August 2006, fulfilling a campaign pledge to visit on the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4789905.stm|work=BBC News|title=Koizumi shrine visit stokes anger|date=15 August 2006|access-date=3 April 2010}}</ref>

Eleven months after his resignation as prime minister, Koizumi revisited the shrine on 15 August 2007 to mark the 62nd anniversary of Japan's surrender in [[World War II]]. His 2007 visit attracted less attention from the media than his prior visits while he was in office.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/photo/070815/ids_photos_wl/r1219897673.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602175340/http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070815/ids_photos_wl/r1219897673.jpg|url-status=dead|title=Yahoo news|archive-date=2 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-10-22 |title=Koizumi, Former Japan Premier, to Quit Parliament After Aso Win – Bloomberg |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZ01YlW1zurQ&refer=japan |access-date=2023-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022191214/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZ01YlW1zurQ&refer=japan |archive-date=22 October 2012 }}</ref>

====Statements on World War II====
On 15 August 2005, the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II, Koizumi publicly stated that "I would like to express keen remorse and heartfelt apologies" and vowed Japan would never again take "the path to war".<ref>{{cite news| title=Koizumi apologizes for war wounds|date=31 August 2005|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/15/pacific.victoryday/|work=[[CNN]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218183732/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/15/pacific.victoryday/|archive-date=18 December 2005}}</ref>