born Jan. 8, 1942, Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan Third-generation Japanese politician who became prime minister in 2001. Both Koizumi's father and grandfather served in the Diet (parliament). He ran unsuccessfully for his father's seat after the latter's death in 1969 but was elected in 1971. He held ministerial posts in 1988-89, 1992-93, and 1996-98. After unsuccessful bids for the presidency of the Liberal-Democratic Party in 1995 and 1998, he won in April 2001 and was soon confirmed as prime minister. An unconventional advocate of reform, Koizumi appointed a cabinet that included a record five women. His economic policies included privatizing the country's postal savings system, reducing government spending, and ending the practice of supporting failing businesses
born July 24, 1886, Tokyo, Japan died July 30, 1965, Yugawara Japanese novelist. Though his earliest short stories have affinities with those of Edgar Allan Poe and the French Decadents, Tanizaki later turned to exploring more traditional Japanese ideals of beauty. His novels include Some Prefer Nettles (1928-29), which tells of marital unhappiness that is in fact a conflict between the new and the old, with the implication that the old will win; and his masterpiece, The Makioka Sisters (1943-48; film, 1983), which describes, in the leisurely style of classical Japanese literature, the inroads of the harsh modern world on traditional society. His writings are characterized by eroticism and ironic wit