Japan - who mentioned assassins ?

The Japanese ruling LDP party has seen some defections over the issue of Post Office privatisation - it was it's own rebel members who caused it to be defeated at the first attempt and the election is Prime Minister Koizumi's response. Those rebels now find themselves with hand-picked opponents set against them for re-election. A handy summary of the key features of this election, more from the Mainichi Times..., mentions these as 'high-profile candidates' but others have been less polite and called them 'assassins'. Win or lose, some see this tactic as turning the LDP into a new kind of policy driven political party still more from the Mainichi Times...