Japan's Diet Names Koizumi As New PMThe Japanese Diet (parliament) Thursday elected Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Junichiro Koizumi as the nation's new prime minister of Japan.Koizumi thus became Japan's 56th prime minister and took over the top government post from Yoshiro Mori. Koizumi collected majorities in balloting of both houses of the Diet. The 59-year-old reformist picked up 287 out of 478 valid votes in the 480-member House of Representatives, and collected 138 out of 246 valid votes in the 252-member House of Councilors. Koizumi, who was elected the LDP's president Tuesday in a landslide victory, is expected to unveil a new cabinet lineup later in the day. The lineup for the new cabinet will be announced later Thursday following a news conference by members of the new cabinet and an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace. Earlier in the day, Mori and his cabinet resigned en masse, paving the way for Koizumi's premiership. |
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