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    Japan PM hopeful Koizumi rules out snap election if elected

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    By Japan Today Editor

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    Japan PM hopeful Koizumi rules out snap election if elected

    Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Sunday dismissed the idea of swiftly dissolving the House of Representatives for a snap election, if he wins the ruling party’s upcoming leadership race and becomes the next Japanese prime minister.

    Koizumi, one of the five candidates expected to file their candidacies on Monday in the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election, told reporters in Saitama, near Tokyo, that voters want the next prime minister to tackle “pressing challenges”, rather than calling an election.

    “At this point, we are not in a situation in which the next prime minister can dissolve (the lower house) soon after taking office, contrary to what happened last year,” said Koizumi, a public favorite to become a future Japanese leader.

    Incumbent Shigeru Ishiba dissolved the lower house shortly after he was chosen LDP leader and then prime minister last October, apparently to capitalize on the bump in Cabinet ratings often seen when a new prime minister takes office.

    The general election on Oct. 27, however, dealt a blow to the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito party, forcing it to form a minority government.

    Ishiba announced his decision to step down earlier this month after he sought to resist calls from within the LDP to do so in the wake of another setback in the House of Councillors election in July. His persistence in staying on as LDP head had divided the party.

    Koizumi, whose father Junichiro Koizumi served as Japanese prime minister, is making his second bid to become LDP chief.

    “We have to reflect on the fact that our party’s internal wrangling has prevented the Diet from convening (an extraordinary session) and delayed policymaking,” Koizumi said.

    “What is expected of us is not creating a political vacuum but realizing policies,” the 44-year-old said.

    The other contenders in the Oct. 4 LDP leadership race are former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi and former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.

    Whoever wins the election must be elected by parliament to become the next prime minister.