Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi (born 8 January 1942) is the former Prime Minister of Japan. He stepped down in 2006.

His Excellency Junichirō Koizumi
小泉 純一郎
Prime Minister of Japan
In office 26 April 2001 – 26 September 2006
Monarch	Akihito
Preceded by	Yoshirō Mori
Succeeded by	Shinzo Abe
President of the Liberal Democratic Party
In office 20 April 2001 – 26 September 2006
Preceded by	Yoshirō Mori
Succeeded by	Shinzo Abe
Minister of Health and Welfare
In office 7 November 1996 – 29 July 1998
Prime Minister	Ryutaro Hashimoto
Preceded by	Naoto Kan
Succeeded by	Sohei Miyashita
In office 27 December 1988 – 10 August 1989
Prime Minister	Noboru Takeshita Sōsuke Uno
Preceded by	Takao Fujimoto
Succeeded by	Saburo Toida
Minister of Post and Telecommunications
In office 12 December 1992 – 20 July 1993
Prime Minister	Kiichi Miyazawa
Preceded by	Hideo Watanabe
Succeeded by	Kiichi Miyazawa
Member of the House of Representatives for Kanagawa 11th district
In office 20 October 1996 – 30 August 2009
Preceded by	New constituency
Succeeded by	Shinjirō Koizumi
Personal details
Born	(1942-01-08) January 8, 1942 Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Kayoko Miyamoto ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 1982)​
Children	Kōtarō Koizumi Shinjirō Koizumi Yoshinaga Miyamoto
Alma mater	Keio University University College London

Early life

Born in Yokosuka, Kanagawa on 8 January, 1942, Koizumi was taught at Yokosuka High School and Keio University, where he studied economics. He went to University College London before returning to Japan in August 1969 when his father died.

Yasukuni Shrine and Junichiro

While he was prime minister of Japan, he made China and South Korea very angry by continuing to visit the Yasukuni Shrine. He was succeeded by Shinzo Abe.