Japan PM pitches reforms to voters ahead of poll

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took to the streets in western Japan yesterday, hoping to drum up support for his postal privatisation agenda ahead of a parliamentary election next month.

Koizumi called a September 11 general election after members of the old guard within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) helped to defeat bills to privatise the postal system, the pillar of his reform agenda.

Koizumi has said he wants to make the election a referendum on privatising Japan Post, a sprawling business empire with about $3 trillion in assets, as well as on his broader reforms.

Main opposition Democratic Party leader Katsuya Okada sought to broaden the focus.

So far, however, Koizumi's gamble of seeking a new reform mandate seems to be paying off.

A Yomiuri newspaper survey conducted from Wednesday to Friday showed that support for Koizumi rose to 53.2 per cent, up 5.5 percentage points from a poll taken just after his August 8 decision to call a snap election.

Other recent opinion polls have also shown a rise in Koizumi's support to above 50 per cent.

Although the official campaign period for the election does not start for another 10 days, candidates were already busy trying to woo voters, including two running for a seat in western Japan in an election battle full of symbolic significance.

The contrasting opponents - Takafumi Horie, founder of high-flying Internet portal Livedoor who was tapped by Koizumi to run as a de facto LDP candidate, and Shizuka Kamei, a staunch opponent of Koizumi's postal reforms who split ranks with the LDP to form a new party - exchanged verbal jabs on a TV programme.

Horie - who made headlines this year when he launched a fierce takeover battle against Fuji Television that ended in a compromise - said Kamei was missing the main point of reforms.

Analysts expect a close race in the election district in Hiroshima where Horie and Kamei are running, along with a candidate for the opposition Democratic Party.