Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is not thinking of staying in office beyond September 2006 when his term as ruling party leader ends, even if his coalition wins next month's election, a party official said Monday.

Speculation surfaced over the weekend that Koizumi, already the longest-serving prime minister in two decades, might extend his term, following comments from members of the coalition.

"Prime Minister Koizumi has never said that (he would extend his term). He has said (he would stay) only until September of next year," Tsutomu Takebe, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said in an interview.

Koizumi called a September 11 general election after rebels in the LDP sided with the opposition parties and helped defeat bills to privatize the postal system, the pillar of his reform agenda.

Koizumi, who came to power in April 2001, has repeatedly said he would step down when his second three-year term as LDP president ends in September 2006.

The prime minister's term is not limited by law, but LDP rules stipulate that party presidents serve three-year terms and a maximum of two consecutive terms.

The representative of the ruling party usually becomes prime minister because the post is chosen by a vote in parliament.

The LDP insists that the election is a referendum on privatizing Japan Post, a giant financial institution with more than US$3 trillion in assets.

The LDP has tapped a string of celebrity candidates, who have been labelled assassins, to run against party rebels and woo unaffiliated voters who have been key to recent elections.

Prominent among them are Takafumi Horie, a 32-year-old maverick CEO and founder of high-flying Internet portal Livedoor Co, and Yuriko Koike, a former television anchorwoman and now environment minister.

The LDP's celebrity tactic has sparked some criticism. Opposition Democratic Party leader Katsuya Okada, however, said fixing Japan's pension system, creaking due to a falling birth rate and ageing population, should be the top priority.

"For those who think the current pension system isn't working, we want you to vote for the Democratic Party and let us carry through pension reforms under a Democratic administration," Okada said in a campaign speech in Ibaraki, north of Tokyo.

Source: China Daily