Koizumi seeks Diet passage of postal bills without amendments
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he has ordered the Diet passage of a set of four postal deregulation bills without amendments, a move that should add fuel to political wrangling over the controversial bills.
Koizumi told reporters that he gave the order when he met with Toranosuke Katayama, minister of public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications.
Koizumi had previously hinted at the possibility of making amendments to the bills so that the politically sensitive bills can pass through the Diet.
Koizumi has repeatedly said he is determined to seek the Diet passage of the bills by the July 31 end of the current Diet session as he brands the bills a milestone for privatization of the postal services — mail, postal savings and life insurance known as kampo.
The bills include one that would allow private firms to begin offering mail services under certain conditions and one to establish a new public corporation in 2003 to take over the three state-run postal services.
The issue of postal service deregulation is highly political as there are many lawmakers both in the ruling and opposition parties with vested interests in postal services.
In particular, pro-state-run postal services lawmakers in Koizumi’s Liberal Democratic Party strongly oppose the premier’s attempt to make the postal services fully privatized in the future upon Diet passage of the bills.
Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda made it clear that the government has no plans to make amendments to the bills.
The government-sponsored bills are the best. I expect them to be approved as they are proposed by the government, Fukuda said at a press conference.
AP-NY-06-25-02 0558EDT
FDMSKYviaNewsEdge
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