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Japan PM dissolves parliament
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has dissolved the lower house of parliament, paving the way for new elections. The poll is to be held November 9, with the dominant issue likely to be how best to revitalize the world's second-largest economy. Japan has been in an economic trough for a decade, though it has shown signs recently of a pickup in confidence. Riding that upswing, Koizumi is hoping to sweep to victory in the November elections and push through a fresh mandate for reform. Koizumi won a landslide re-election to a second three-year team as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party last month, and the November polls could consolidate his standing as one of the nation's longest-serving leaders. Last month the popular prime minister also reshuffled his cabinet, replacing several key members but hanging onto some reform-orientated ministers. Despite strong opposition, Koizumi kept his controversial economic policy and banking adviser, Heizo Takenaka, known for his tough stance on cleaning up the huge pile of bad debt amassed by Japan's banks. When Koizumi took office in 2001, he called for tough, no-pain, no-gain economic reforms to reverse Japan's long-running economic slump. He capped government spending and pushed through laws to deregulate industry and privatize government institutions like the post office. Critics, however, say he has caused too much pain and not enough gain and have called for more government spending to create new jobs. While Japan has shown signs of recovery, joblessness remains near a record high, hovering above 5 percent. The expected dissolution of Parliament places the 480 seats of the lower house -- the more powerful of the legislature's two chambers -- up for grabs.
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