JAPAN’S PM KISHIDA DECLARES VICTORY AS INVESTORS CHEERED THE RESULTS

Mon 01 November 2021:

After leading his ruling coalition to a strong majority in national elections, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared victory on Monday.

Kishida, a soft-spoken centrist who has been in office for a month, promised to boost the world’s third-largest economy by drafting a new economic spending plan this month.

He also said Japan would “take a leading role in working towards zero emissions in Asia”, a day before he heads to Glasgow for the COP26 summit.

The long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito won 293 of the 465 seats in parliament’s lower house, local media reported while the official result was finalised.

“It was a very tough election, but the people’s will — that they want us to create this country’s future under the stable LDP-Komeito government and the Kishida administration — was shown,” the prime minister said.

“We received a precious 261 seats for the LDP. As a responsible party… we will meet the public mandate.”

Investors cheered the results, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index rising more than two percent after the ruling bloc limited its losses to beat exit poll predictions.

The coalition had previously held 305 seats in parliament, and the LDP 276 on its own.

Kishida took office a month ago, after Yoshihide Suga quit after only a year in office, partially because to popular dissatisfaction with his handling of the Covid-19 controversy.

Kishida said he would improve the health system’s ability to treat Covid patients and start booster shots from December.

He also promised to deliver “a large-scale economic stimulus” as soon as possible within this year, without saying how much it would be.

According to Japanese media, an estimated 56 percent of voters cast votes, continuing the low turnout rates that have plagued the country’s elections in recent years.

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