Episode 83 - Reform Without Sanctuary

History of Japan

Isaac Meyer

Japan, History, Japanese

4.8 • 744 Ratings

🗓️ 27 December 2014

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Koizumi Junichiro was quite possibly the most successful Prime Minister Japan has had for decades (and certainly the best dressed). This week, we'll trace the rise of his career, his goals while in power, and the impact of his reforms on a Japanese state sometimes thought to be irreformable.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This week's episode is brought to you by Audible.
0:03.7	Audible has over 150 titles to choose from, all compatible with iPhone, Android, Kindle, or your MP3
0:11.5	player of choice. For listeners of the show, Audible is offering a free 30-day trial membership,
0:17.9	complete with credit for a free audiobook of your choice. You can cancel any time
0:22.3	and keep the free book, or keep going with one of Audible's subscription offers. Go to
0:27.2	audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your offer. This week, I'm going to totally depart from
0:34.7	the historical theme, and recommend The Hobbit, there and back again.
0:39.7	The last of the movies just came out in the U.S. this last week, and while it was decent enough
0:44.9	as spectacle, I suppose, I can't help but feel that something was lost from the original
0:49.8	tale of an ordinary man with no particular aspiration for adventure, who is a hero precisely
0:55.5	because of how seemingly ordinary his goals are.
0:59.4	Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your copy. Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, Episode 83, Reform Without Sanctuary.
1:29.5	This week, we're going to take on one of the more popular political figures of modern Japan.
1:35.1	He made his career as a political maverick who would break down the old system and move Japan into a better and brighter future.
1:43.2	In some ways, he succeeded and remains one one of the better-regarded prime ministers in the last
1:48.1	few decades.
1:49.3	Not that that's saying very much.
1:51.7	On the other hand, his reforms have proven to have little life without him, and though he still
1:57.3	lives, it seems that much of the energy which drove him to try and reform Japan is now gone.
2:04.4	Koizumi Junichiro was born on January 8, 1942, in Yokoska, to the south of Tokyo.
2:12.1	He was born into a political dynasty.
2:14.8	His father, Koizumi Junya, was a diet member who joined the old Minseito
	...

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