Japan PM heading for easy win

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s ruling coalition looks set to win a solid majority in Sunday’s general election, polls...

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s ruling coalition looks set to win a solid majority in Sunday’s general election, polls showed on Friday, as an approving stock market closed at a four-year high on record turnover.

The Asahi newspaper said its poll of closely fought districts indicated Koizumi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) would win at least 241 seats in Parliament’s 480-seat Lower House, giving it a majority on its own for the first time since 1990.

Three other newspaper surveys also showed the LDP doing well among uncommitted voters who had leaned towards the Opposition Democratic Party in recent elections. The maverick, wavy-haired Koizumi (63) called the snap election after LDP rebels helped the Opposition to defeat bills to privatise the postal system, a financial services giant with $3 trillion in assets that has often been criticised for funding wasteful public works projects.

‘‘Koizumi Theatre’’, as Japanese media call it, has definitely caught the attention of Japan’s often apathetic electorate. The Prime Minister’s decision to stake his political career on privatising Japan Post, and to send high-profile candidates dubbed ‘‘assassins’’ by local media to challenge the LDP ‘‘traitors’’, appears to have played well with many voters. —Reuters

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