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Japanese PM Rules Out Possibility of Dual Election
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reiterated Monday he is not thinking of calling a snap general election for the House of Representatives (lower house) to coincide with a House of Councilors (upper house) poll in July, Kyodo News reported.
"I will not call a double election," Koizumi told reporters at his official residence in Tokyo.
"It has only been a year since the lower house election. There is still three years (in the terms of lower house members) left, and there is no need.", Koizumi said.
Earlier in the day, Koizumi said in the lower house's Budget Committee that he thinks "the matter of a lower house election is something that is still far in the future."
Koizumi was responding to a question by main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lawmaker Fumihiko Igarashi, who said the prime minister should not dissolve the lower house for a double election if he wants to carry out reforms.
Koizumi's record-high support levels are triggering speculation that he may opt for a dual vote even though he has repeatedly said that he has no intention to call an early election for the lower house.
While a lower house election does not have to be held until 2004, the Japanese prime minister has the right to dissolve the lower chamber for a poll at any time.
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