Koizumi: 'I am a caged bird'

Koizumi was propelled to power by grassroots support in late April

TOKYO, Japan -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi says he feels like a bird in a cage ever since he took on the top job in late April this year.

Writing is the first issue of his personal e-mail magazine, the maverick PM says the one thing he misses most is his loss of freedom.

"I am a 24-hour bird in a cage," he notes wistfully. "Before I became prime minister, I used to go to convenience stores alone and walk around freely.

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"But now, body guards always accompany me where ever I go."

Officials say the first issue of Koizumi's personal e-magazine, entitled somewhat immodestly "Lion Heart", was sent to about 800,000 recipients who had registered to subscribe free of charge.

More than 1 million subscribers are now signed up, after the first issue proved so popular. The editor, Shinzo Abe, said he was considering applying to the Guinness Book of Records for the world record subscription for an e-mail magazine.

The magazine's name is supposedly a pun on Koizumi's tousled mane of wavy hair and his promise of bold reform.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said the high readership of the mail magazine showed the public's growing interest in politics.

And with at least two key polls drawing near, Koizumi and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are hoping such a heightened interest in politics will work in their favor.

First up is a June 24 election for the Tokyo city assembly, widely seen as a litmus test for parliament's Upper House poll to be held in late July.

Koizumi hopes to achieve a convincing victory in the Upper House election in order to win a mandate to push through his ambitious policy agenda of structural and fiscal reforms.

His cabinet has pledged to rid Japan's banking sector of bad loans that have crippled the economy, and rein in the government's snowballing debt.

Besides the publication of the new e-mail magazine Koizumi has also promised to hold U.S.-style "Town Hall Meetings," which would also be attended by cabinet ministers.

Koizumi's popularity shows no sign of abating and paints a stark contrast to the record-low single-digit support accorded his predecessor, Yoshiro Mori.

Reuters contributed to this report.