Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party pledged Friday in its policy platform for the upcoming general election to resubmit Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's postal privatization bills for passage in the next parliament session.

It also promised to strengthen Japan's ties with the Untied States and take the lead in Asian diplomacy, and said it will announce a proposal on revising the Constitution by the 50th anniversary on Nov. 15 of the party's founding.

Koizumi, who is also LDP president, reiterated that the largest issue of the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election is whether the public supports postal privatization and stressed the policy will lead to a structural reform of Japanese politics.

"I promote this postal privatization because it is a structural reform of the administration, of state finances, of the economy, banking and red tape, but most of all, a structural reform of politics," Koizumi said at a press conference at LDP headquarters.

The government has said privatizing Japan Post will help divert its huge funds of 340 trillion yen (about 3.12 trillion US dollars) into the private sector and shift its 260,000 public servants to the private sector while operations of new entities after the privatization would be subjected to taxation.

Koizumi said the policy is also aimed at doing away with the tendency of politicians -- of both governing and opposition camps - - to represent the specific interest of postal servants who help them a lot in campaigning for elections.

Koizumi dissolved the lower house Aug. 8 for the general election as his bills to privatize Japan Post -- the centerpiece of his reform drive -- were voted down in the House of Councilors, or the upper house.

Postal privatization tops the party's 120-point platform. The pledges cover five areas -- fiscal and administrative reforms, the economy, public security, measures for future generations, and Japan's role in the world.

"The LDP will accelerate reforming Japan with postal privatization as a breakthrough," the platform says, committing the LDP to "realize postal privatization without fail".

The platform also says the LDP will aim for nominal economic growth of 2 percent in fiscal 2006, as in its previous platform for the general election in November 2003.

But it dismissed raising the income tax on corporate employees, an idea that was recently floated by the government's Tax Commission, and said it aims to drastically reform the tax system, including the consumption tax, around fiscal 2007.

Koizumi said rebuilding Japan's debt-laden state finances will be a major issue to be tackled after he leaves office in September next year.

Koizumi has said the government will not pursue the contentious consumption tax hike until his tenure as LDP president expires, also in September next year.

Source: Xinhua