Name: Junichiro Koizumi
Also known as: Jun-Chan
Position: Prime Minister of JapanKoizumi was born Jan. 8, 1942, in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa, Japan. He was educated at Keio University and graduated with a degree in economics in 1967.

He has been involved in politics for most of his life, starting out as a secretary to a member of the House of Representatives and working his way up the Liberal Democratic Party over the past thirty years. He held many different posts during this time: the Chairman of Finances in 1980, Chairman of National Organization Committee in 1989, and most recently, the Minister of Health and Welfare in 1996.

In his third attempt to run for president, he was finally elected under the Liberal Democratic Party in 2001. He holds a liberal position on many issues and is working to turn around Japan’s current recession. His motto is a quote from The Analects of Confucius, “The most fundamental principle of politics is trust.