Japan Elections Give Upper House Victory To LDP


Elections in Japan have lead to a major upper house victory for the Liberal Democratic Party Sunday. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said publicly that his party’s important win will lead to a more stable parliament and allow him to continue his economic reform.

Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and partner party, New Komeito, won 135 seats in the parliament’s upper house out of the 242 total. BBC says that the group’s main rival, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), is expected to claim only 17 seats after poll counting has ended.

This marks the worst showing from the DPJ in at least 15 years. Many say the LDP’s victory came in a landslide, showing a clear image of political views in Japan today. It is also seen as an endorsement of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his policies.

Mr. Abe has been leading a push for major economic changes in Japan since being elected in 2006. Much of it has been highly controversial, facing problems in parliament. The victory of his party will allow him to continue his changes more easily, CNN reports.

Prime Minister Abe said, after the poll results, that it shows the people’s “desire for a steady political situation,” allowing “forward progress on economic policy.”

Among the changes Shinzo Abe is considering include raising sales taxes from five to eight percent. Other policy changes could include a drop in the corporate tax rate, currently at 36 percent. The prime minister has also shown that he wishes to seek other forms of deregulation, hoping to encourage private business investment. Some have called these proposals a part of “Abenomics.”

Shinzo Abe has also said that economics is his top priority, but he also wants to rewrite the anti-war constitution. The constitution was written after Japan’s surrender during World War II, has strict rules against building a large military. Some find this worrying, saying Mr. Abe’s nationalism will only strain relations further with nations like China and North Korea.

Shinzo Abe and the LDP have also goals including restarting nuclear reactors in Japan. This proposal has been met with extreme controversy.

The victory of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party in the upper house elections is expected to allow the conservative policies proposed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe come into law.

[Image via Wikimedia Commons / ?????]

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