The House of Councillors on Monday voted down a set of bills to privatize Japan Post in a move Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has threatened would lead to a snap national election.
The Upper House rejected the bills by 125 to 108 votes, as many members of the LDP joined the opposition camp in casting dissent votes against them.
Koizumi said Monday morning he will immediately dissolve the House of Representatives if the bills are voted down, according to Toshikatsu Matsuoka, a lower house member of his Liberal Democratic Party.
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