Female 'ninjas' steal Koizumi's limelight

[donsu]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/GI23Dh02.html


A special session of the Japanese parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly reelected Junichiro Koizumi as prime minister following his Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) landslide victory in the September 11 general election. But while the premier was the official focus of the proceedings, media attention was firmly riveted on the record number of newly elected women lawmakers sitting in the lower chamber for the first time.

The newly convened 480-seat Lower House now has an all-time high of 43 female members, distinguishing it from its largely male-packed predecessors. Most of the fresh female faces were elected as part of Koizumi's drive to reform the traditionally male-dominated LDP and boot out its anti-reform old guard, a policy the media dubbed the "female ninja" strategy. To ensure the success of female candidates Koizumi gave them priority treatment. As a result, the LDP has almost trebled its number of female lawmakers in the lower chamber to 26 from just nine. This has markedly altered its, as well as the Lower House's, formerly rather dull, male-dominated image.

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Satsuki Katayama, a high-profile member of the new female intake, told the media, "The LDP has now been transformed forever." A majority of the newly elected lawmakers are diehard Koizumi loyalists and their arrival has greatly strengthened the prime minister's power within the LDP, making him the undisputed king of Japanese politics. Yukari Sato, a former economist and successful "ninja", summed up the newcomers' mood: "It is thanks to Koizumi that we got elected."
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more power to the Ninja women and a bunch of hugs and kisses

[BloodyWilliam]

1. Another reason ninjas are always better than pirates.