Hobby, I think generally you are right by saying that there is no real desire for a republic in Thailand. But I personally think that Jakkapop might have his own creed which is more extreme than other red leaders. His extremism echoed what he implied in several press conferences, although I am not sure if those statements are punishable with the current LM law.

Joy. Koizumi is the first Japanese PM who accampanied his older sister with him to the Summit. He devorced in his 30s and has not remarried since then. It's a very unique behavior for a Japanese politician. His opponents accused him of lacking compassion to his ex-wife and his son living with her and gave him a nick name "a freak", Henjin in Japanese . I think this is what your friedns mean to you.

But the real problem about Koizumi's premiership is not his personality problem, but his popularity which sometimes concealed the negative affects of his policy on the ordinary Japanese. He is also the first PM who paid homage to the Yasukuni shrine, which honors Japanese soldiers who died in WW2 including the war crime convicts of Tokyo War Tribunal, every year, since Nakasone did that. His action brought about the tension with China and Korea, but very popular among a lot of Japanse.

So he is at least a contraversial PM, but probably was most liked PM since the last war, mainly because his straightfoward apporach to solve a series of problems, which is different from conventional politicians, in the time of economic cirisis. (His political background is very conventional actually, but his performence was different.) He is still very popular for a LDP politician, so I think he might come out of his retirement(he decleared he would not run for the next general election) , and reorganize the LDP after the expected miserable defeat of them in the next election.

This is my personal opinon on him, other Japaense think differently.

Cheers