Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- A Japanese government special committee approved the breakup and sale of Japan Post and sent it to the lower house of parliament for a vote today.

It is the second time legislation to privatize the country's postal system has come to a vote in parliament since being rejected by the Upper house in August, prompting Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to call national elections.

Koizumi won a landslide victory in the Sept. 11 elections, giving him a mandate to push through the postal bill in an extraordinary session of parliament, which started on Sept. 21.

The legislation is essentially unchanged, except for a six- month delay in beginning the privatization process, to October 2007, from April of the same year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lindsay Whipp in Tokyo at lwhipp1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 10, 2005 23:44 EDT