TOKYO -- With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe trying to shore up his ailing administration after a massive defeat in the recent Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, Shinjiro Koizumi, the popular 36-year-old Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, is likely to hold the key.
The popular third-term LDP member's attitude could sway Abe's handling of the government in the run-up to the next lower house election and the 2018 LDP presidential poll.