With the Lower House's passage of the postal privatization bills Tuesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi overcame an important hurdle in pushing the "centerpiece" of his reform agenda. The victory was bittersweet for Mr. Koizumi, however, as many members of his Liberal Democratic Party -- including former Cabinet ministers and LDP executives -- refused to support the bills.
Thirty-seven LDP members joined the opposition camp in voting against the bills and 14 either were absent or abstained. The bill passed by only five votes, 233 to 228.
The vote reflects strong resistance among some LDP members to postal privatization. Many opponents within the LDP are backed in elections by heads and workers of "tokutei" (special) post offices, which were originally set up in the Meiji Period with the help of influential people in local communities.