Shinzo Abe vows to press ahead with painful reforms
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged yesterday to push on with painful reforms aimed at fixing Japan's economic woes after voters handed him a handsome majority in upper house polls. Abe said victory for his Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito was vindication of his economic policy.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged yesterday to push on with painful reforms aimed at fixing Japan's economic woes after voters handed him a handsome majority in upper house polls.
"We appealed to voters in this election that we will press forward with economic policies. They back our position after we said this is the way to go and nothing else," he told a press conference.
We appealed to voters in this election that we will press forward with economic policies. They back our position after we said this is the way to go and nothing else
The landslide victory means both legislative chambers are now under government control and Abe can push through painful structural reforms.
The LDP and Komeito now have 135 of the 242 seats in the house of councillors. The country's main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, has just 59.
Although the thumping victory was expected, investors cheered the outcome, sending the Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange up 1.23 per cent shortly after the opening bell. It settled to close up 0.47 per cent. Abe said he would speed up decision-making and policy implementation, attempting to dispel speculation that he might shy away from reforming the labour market and removing trade barriers now elections are out of the way, and turn his attention to pet nationalist projects.