The government will cancel its plan to either sell off or close by September 2012 the Kampo no Yado resort inns and Mielparque wedding facilities owned by Japan Post Holdings Co., officials said Monday.

The steps needed to implement the decision will be incorporated into postal reform legislation due to be submitted during the extraordinary Diet session to be convened in late October, the officials said.

Reversing the previous administration's policy, the ruling coalition of the Democratic Party of Japan, Social Democratic Party and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) will try to make productive use of the Japan Post facilities.

The three parties believe the inns are important national assets and want to avoid a hasty sale.

While they were still in the opposition, the three criticized the process for selecting purchasers and said the price was calculated in an unclear manner.

Under the previous government led by the Liberal Democratic Party, Japan Post was supposed to sell the unprofitable Kampo no Yado resort inn network to Orix Corp. as part of the postal privatization program.

The plan was scrapped after then Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama demanded its review, alleging the sale price was unreasonably low and that Japan Post and Orix had reached a deal before the bidding.

Kampo no Yado has a chain of 70 hotels that employ about 3,000 people.