PM Koizumi has reshuffled his cabinet, and a rising star in the Liberal Democratic Party is elected Diet member Yuriko Koike, a former journalist who studied in Egypt and speaks fluent Arabic. You might think that with such a background she would be soft, but she’s actually pretty right-wing.

Koike visiting troops in Iraq—did you know that was in the job description of the Minister of the Environment?

A former member of the short-lived Conservative Party, she’s written several books about waking up to terrorism and has called on Japan to follow the US’s example in tightening security. Koike backed the war in Iraq and is pretty hawkish on North Korea.

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