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Events on Thursday 26 April 2001 1
2001Junichiro Koizumi becomes Prime Minister of JapanReformist takes over a struggling economyJunichiro Koizumi won the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party and became prime minister on 26 April 2001, promising to privatise the postal system and restructure the banks. His popular style made him one of Japan's longest-serving postwar leaders. He held office until 2006.