Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda today signalled he was unlikely to call an early election despite gridlock in the divided parliament.

In an almost unprecedented move, Fukuda's coalition last week used its power in the lower house to override the upper house's rejection of a bill to restart a naval mission supporting US-led forces in Afghanistan.

Elections "should come sooner or later", Fukuda told a news conference. "But we should not affect the economy or people's lives by dissolving the Parliament," he said, adding that the economy "is in a sensitive situation".

Fukuda also noted that Japan will host the summit of the Group of Eight major economies in July and a summit of African leaders in May. "We will discuss very important issues at these two occasions. So I will make a decision by considering various elements," Fukuda said.

The opposition in July swept the ruling Liberal Democratic Party out of top spot in the upper house for the first time on a backlash after a series of scandals including mismanagement of the pension system.

The lower house does not have to be dissolved until September 2009, but the opposition says an election is needed to avoid a divided parliament. The opposition renewed its call for a general election after Fukuda's coalition last week rammed through the bill resuming the Indian Ocean naval mission supporting US-led forces.

But Fukuda defended overriding the upper house a drastic step not taken since 1951.

Source : PTI