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Japan PM Kishida boosted by easy vote win

Elaine LiesDeutsche Presse Agentur
A poorer showing would have raised expectations that Fumio Kishida would be another short-term PM.
Camera IconA poorer showing would have raised expectations that Fumio Kishida would be another short-term PM. Credit: AP

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will make full use of his surprisingly strong parliamentary election win as he tackles major policy decisions, including trying to pass an extra budget to accelerate the nation's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stocks surged to a one-month high after the Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday held onto its single-party majority in the lower house in defiance of predictions.

The party did lose a handful of seats, including that of secretary-general Akira Amari.

The results are likely to embolden Kishida, only in power a month and with little yet to show in terms of policy successes, allowing him to put his stamp on the office ahead of an upper-house election next year.

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"We won a majority, which in this election was significant," Kishida said.

"I want to make full use of this both in running the government and running parliament."

Kishida, a soft-spoken former banker, has so far favoured traditional policies of the party's right wing, including pushing to increase military spending to counter a more assertive China.

But gains made by the LDP's junior coalition partner Komeito, which increased its seats from 29 to 32, may serve to rein in some of the party's more hawkish tendencies in this area, analysts said.

Otherwise, Kishida is likely to maintain the diplomatic policies of his predecessors: strengthening ties with key ally the United States and like-minded Asian-Pacific nations such as India and Australia through the Quad security framework.

Domestically, he has promised to address wealth inequality, touting a "new capitalism" as the world's third-largest economy struggles to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.

Japanese shares jumped on Monday, with the Nikkei index rising more than two per cent to a one-month high on hopes for a stable government and more government spending.

While initial exit polls on Sunday suggested the LDP would have to rely on junior coalition partner Komeito to maintain a majority, the conservative party - in power for all but a few years since its founding in 1955 - instead won a solid majority on its own.

The LDP claimed 261 seats against the 276 it held before the election - an absolute stable majority that will give it control of parliamentary committees and ease passage of legislation, including key budget proposals.

A poorer showing would have heightened expectations Kishida could follow his predecessor Yoshihide Suga in becoming another short-term premier in the wake of Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving premier, who stepped down last year due to ill health.

The party did take some notable hits, including the loss by Amari, in his single-seat district, and former economy minister Nobuteru Ishihara, who lost his western Tokyo seat.

Analysts said the fall of such stalwarts, in contrast to the massive victories of younger politicians such as Taro Kono and Shinjiro Koizumi, could potentially signal a change of generations in the LDP.

"If we're in a post-COVID and post-Abe (era), then the question is what are the new policy agendas that Japan has to face, not just in the next year or two but long-term," said Kenneth McElwain, professor of political science, University of Tokyo.

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