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Koizumi may retire next September
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-23 06:15
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is not thinking of staying
in office beyond September 2006 when his term as ruling party leader ends, even
if his coalition wins next month's election, a party official said yesterday.
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| Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, also president of the
ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), speaks to voters on the street of
Itami, western Japan, August 20, 2005. Koizumi took to the streets in
western Japan on Saturday, hoping to drum up support for his postal
privatisation agenda ahead of a parliamentary election next month.
[Reuters] | Speculation surfaced over the weekend that Koizumi, already the
longest-serving prime minister in two decades, might extend his term, following
comments from members of the coalition.
"Prime Minister Koizumi has never said that (he would extend his term). He
has said (he would stay) only until September of next year," Tsutomu Takebe,
secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said in an
interview.
Koizumi called a September 11 general election after rebels in the LDP sided
with the opposition parties and helped defeat bills to privatize the postal
system, the pillar of his reform agenda.
Koizumi, who came to power in April 2001, has repeatedly said he would step
down when his second three-year term as LDP president ends in September 2006.
The prime minister's term is not limited by law, but LDP
rules stipulate that party presidents serve three-year terms and a maximum of
two consecutive terms.
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