Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc appeared set for a handsome upper house election win on Sunday, cementing his grip on power and setting the stage for Japan’s first stable government since the charismatic Junichiro Koizumi left office in 2006.
The victory would give the hawkish leader a stronger mandate for his recipe to revive the economy and spell his personal political redemption after he led his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to a humiliating defeat in a 2007 upper house election.
The ensuing parliamentary deadlock allowed the opposition to block legislation and led to Abe’s resignation two months later.
That “twisted parliament” has hampered policies for most of the six years since and led to a string of revolving-door leaders. “I want to see a stable government. That’s the Liberal Democratic Party,” said 76-year-old Hiroshi Miyamoto, after casting his ballot for Abe’s pro-business, conservative party in the western Tokyo suburb of Hachioji.
Abe, 58, who returned to power after a big win in December’s lower house poll for his LDP and coalition partner New Komeito, has said he will remain focused on fixing the economy with his “Abenomics” mix of hyper-easy monetary policy, fiscal spending and structural reforms.
But some worry that Abe’s resolve for economic reform could weaken in the face of a resurgent LDP. A landslide victory could bolster opposition to regulatory reform from LDP lawmakers with close ties to industries that would suffer from change.
Critics also worry Abe will shift his focus to the conservative agenda that has long been close to his heart, and concentrate on revising the post-war pacifist constitution and recasting Tokyo’s wartime history with a less apologetic tone.
Such a shift, along with moves to strengthen Japan’s defense posture, would further fray ties with China and South Korea, where bitter memories of Japan’s past militarism run deep. Tokyo is already engaged in tense territorial rows with Beijing and Seoul over tiny, uninhabited islands.
