Following in the footsteps of Junichiro Koizumi will not be easy for Shinzo Abe, the man chosen on Wednesday as the next Japanese prime minister by the ruling Liberal Democratic party.

Mr Koizumi is charismatic and popular. He is credited with championing financial reforms that have helped to lift the world's second-largest economy out of stagnation, and with reasserting Japan's role as a strong, respected and "normal" nation. Only on ties with China can Mr Koizumi be said to have failed his country. His unnecessary visits to the Yasukuni shrine, where war criminals as well as ordinary soldiers are commemorated, ensured a frosty relationship between Japan and its most important trading partner, and antagonised Koreans.