Shizuka Kamei

"According to LDP rules, the party head can be dismissed with support from the majority" of LDP Diet members and local representatives, said Kamei, a former party policy chief, on a Fuji TV talk show.

Kamei, who has competed with Koizumi for the presidency of the LDP, is among the party members opposed to privatizing the postal services.

"Privatization does not necessarily produce good results. Nobody wants it," he said. "If Prime Minister Koizumi continues to push (for postal reform), he will certainly put himself in a situation where he will have to resign."

Koizumi has said he plans to stay in power until his term as LDP president expires in September 2006.

He aims to enact bills to privatize Japan Post during the six-month Diet session that starts Jan. 21, paving the way for a planned 10-year privatization process beginning in April 2007.

Kamei called the prime minister "Emperor Koizumi" in criticizing his political style and urged him to change his policies so he can reconcile with those LDP members who oppose him.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 15, 2005
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