Japan’s prime minister faced growing calls to resign today, a day after his coalition suffered a humiliating election defeat that claimed the job of his ruling party’s secretary general and may trigger a Cabinet overhaul.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was riding high today in the homestretch of the campaign for weekend parliamentary elections, boosted by polls forecasting a comfortable win by the party that has ruled Japan for a half-century.

Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi today said he will step down in September 2006 at the end of his term as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, even if the ruling coalition wins a majority in the forthcoming elections.

Japan’s Cabinet today approved a plan to keep Japanese troops in Iraq for another year.

After leading his ruling bloc to a narrow victory in national elections, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today said he would immediately begin following through on campaign pledges to privatise money-losing public agencies and reform the tax system.