The Liberal Democratic Party has stepped up its offensive against the rebels who voted against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's postal privatization bills, tapping Environment Minister Yuriko Koike to run against one of Koizumi's leading opponents in the Lower House election scheduled for Sept. 11.
Koike revealed Wednesday morning that she has been asked by the LDP's executives to run against LDP rebel Koki Kobayashi, a leading postal bill opponent. At a news conference later in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, Koike said she would run in the Tokyo No. 10 constituency, which is where Kobayashi plans to run for re-election.
Koike initially planned to run for the Hyogo No. 6 constituency.