Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, on Monday dissolved parliament and called a snap election for September 11 after the upper house voted down his postal privatisation bills.
Japan political upheaval
Mr Koizumi's move plunges Japan into its most open election in years. Last night, the Liberal Democratic party, which has governed almost continuously for half a century, was on the verge of splitting, with party officials determined to expel the 37 lower-house legislators who voted against postal reform last month.
