Despite the Liberal Democratic Party's overwhelming victory in Sunday's Lower House election, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appears to want to exert even more control over the LDP.
Koizumi said Tuesday he believes newly elected members of the party should avoid joining factions because he has already ordered LDP executives to come up with measures to foster their independence.
"I have told the leadership that they should think about measures to help them gather information on or study (policy matters) without being a member of a faction," Koizumi told reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo.
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