Mr Junichiro Koizumi is a Japanese politician who served as Japanese Prime Minister from April 2001 to September 2006. He was also a leader of the Liberal Democrats Party (LDP) to focusing on Japan’s economic reform, government’s debt and privatization of postal service.

Mr Koizumi was born in Kanagawa on 8 January 1942. He was graduated Keio University in Japan where he studied economics, then he attended University College London until August 1969. He stood for election to the Lower House in December 1969, however, he did not earn enough votes to win election as a LDP representative. In 1970, he was hired as secretaries of Mr Fukuda, who was Minister of Finance at the time and would go on to, become Prime Minister in 1976.

In the general elections of December 1972, Mr Koizumi was elected as a member of the Lower House for the 11th District of Kanagawa Prefecture. He joined Mr Fukuda's faction within the LDP. Since then, he has been re-elected ten times.

Mr Koizumi announced that he would step down from office in 2006, per LDP rules, and would not personally choose a successor as many LDP Prime Ministers have in the past. (Profile of Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet)