NOT ENOUGH CHANGE

'Nonsense. If Japan is suffering, it is suffering from too little reform, not too much.' - MR JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI, refuting critics who attribute the LDP's trouncing in July's Upper House polls to excessive reforms from his era

BOX OF POLITICS

'At the moment, voting in Japan is like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get until you take a bite. No wonder voters are alienated.' - MR KOIZUMI, on similiarities in certain policies of Japan's two parties that present a problem for voters

LOOKING BACK AND AHEAD

'For the five years and five months that I was prime minister, I put all my effort and I put everything into it, and I have no regrets or remorse.' - MR KOIZUMI, who says he prefers a supportive role when asked if he would return as prime minister