Japanese PM to dissolve lower house: report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, September 25, 2003

Japanese PM to dissolve lower house: report

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has decided to dissolve the House of Representatives on Oct. 10 and call a general election on Nov. 9, Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported Thursday.

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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has decided to dissolve the House of Representatives on Oct. 10 and call a general election on Nov. 9, Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported Thursday.

The decision came after the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) made clear it will not oppose an early general election, said the paper.

The daily quoted a DPJ executive official as saying they will basically not attempt to delay the dissolution of the lower house of the parliament and believe it is "unavoidable."

Koizumi will convene an extraordinary parliamentary session Friday primarily to extend an anti-terrorism law which the DPJ has been denying.

The DPJ signed a merger agreement Wednesday with the opposition Liberal Party in a bid to join forces to compete with the DPJ in the election.

Koizumi's cabinet saw a soaring approval rate after Koizumi reshuffled the LDP and the cabinet a few days ago.

In a survey released by Asahi Thursday, the support rate rose 10 percentage points from August to 59 percent. Many other major Japanese media also reported rising popularity.

Shinzo Abe, newly-appointed secretary general of the LDP, said Wednesday the goal of the LDP is to ensure a majority in the general election.

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