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| Sunday, 10 April 2005 |
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Possible snap poll in Japan TOKYO, April 9 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi might call a snap election if his pet project of postal reform is not enacted in the current session of parliament, an official in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said on Friday in a thinly veiled threat to the premier's LDP opponents. Koizumi, who begins his fifth year in office later this month, is locked in a battle with LDP rivals over the legislation, which includes privatising Postal Savings - the world's biggest deposit-taking institution. "As prime minister, Koizumi is grappling with this as an issue he has long made his political promise," Hidenao Nakagawa, in charge of parliamentary affairs for the LDP, told Reuters in an interview. "If (the legislation) is not enacted, I cannot deny the possibility of seeking the will of the people," he said. "We are working so that that does not happen," he added. Koizumi won a partial victory this week when ministers agreed his bill would require the government to sell its entire holdings in Japan Post's savings and insurance businesses. But the proposal was riddled with potential loopholes and faces stiff opposition from conservative barons in the LDP. Koizumi has hinted he might dissolve parliament if the postal reform plan is not legislated by the time parliament ends on June 19, although many analysts think he would be reluctant to match actions to words. |
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