Koizumi wins electoral mandate for postal reform

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is set to win the election that has resulted from the previous dissolution of half the legislature over privatization and reform of the Japanese postal system. The Japanese postal system deals with post and banking and life insurance services as well, and Koizumi earlier proposed legislation to divide the postal system and to privatize it, which failed, with governing Liberal Democrat members crossing the floor on the issue. Koizumi then dissolved the lower house in order to gain a mandate for the reforms.

Polls have predicted Koizumi will win this election by a landslide, permitting the Liberal Democrats to govern without any alliances. The opposition Democratic Party leader Katsuya Okada has said he will resign if the election was lost.

There have also been reports of electoral "assassins", attractive candidates, who were intended to push out the rebel Government ministers who helped defeat the postal reform bills.