Japan’s coalition “Aiming Parliamentary Elections on October 26″

Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 4:18 pm under World News Japan’s coalition “Aiming Parliamentary Elections on October 26″

Tokyo – Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is aiming for a parliamentary lower house election on October 26, the country’s biggest newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported Saturday.

Quoting sources within the LDP, it said the lower house of parliament would probably we dissolved on October 3, by which time the party would have a new president who would have been made prime minister by the lower house, where the LDP has a majority.

There are five candidates to succeed outgoing party chief and prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, including front runner and former foreign minister Taro Aso, and the first female candidate Yuriko Koike.

Koike said Friday she had won the support of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, who had declared his support by saying Koike would be the perfect opponent against Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

After she received full support from charismatic Koizumi, she said at an election debate of the five candidates Friday that she would “destroy Kasumigaseki” – the Tokyo ministries district – “and seek a new system for the 21st century.”

Whoever prevails in the race will become the nation’s prime minister as the LDP president is assured of the nation’s top job because the ruling party controls the more powerful lower chamber of the Japanese parliament and can override upper house decisions. (dpa)

Written by: Sajid Manzoor

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