National News Sweeping victory for Koizumi

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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's victory in elections Sept. 11 handed the leader a new mandate to turn promises into action for a number of sweeping economic reforms.

His landslide victory boosted his Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP's) standing in the Lower House by nearly 20 percent. It also gave ruling lawmakers a two-thirds majority - along with coalition partner New Komeito - to override votes in the still-hostile Upper House.

The LDP's final tally stood at 296 seats in the Lower House, well above the 241 seats needed for a majority and the 249 seats it held when Koizumi dissolved the Lower House.

Optimism about the results increased Tokyo's Nikkei stock index by 1.8 percent in early trading.

But it seemed their victory was too great for the LDP, which did not have enough candidates to fill all the seats it would have won in Tokyo.

The LDP had won enough seats to send eight lawmakers to the Lower House in the Tokyo block's proportional representation system. Under this system voters choose parties rather than individual candidates.

The ruling party, however, had only seven registered candidates to fill in the slots because so many LDP members won in their districts, rather than through proportional representation.

As a result, the seat went to the Social Democratic Party, which otherwise would not have elected any lawmakers in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the victory is a relief for U.S. President George W. Bush, keeping one of his closest friends in power and ensuring a key U.S. alliance.

Japanese analysts, however, questioned whether the close friendship could become a liability for Koizumi as Bush's approval ratings fall over his response to Hurricane Katrina and the violence in Iraq. (AP)

衆院選、小泉自民が圧勝

11日に投票が行なわれた衆議院選挙で、小泉首相が率いる自民党が296議席を獲得して圧勝した。

Shukan ST: Sept. 23, 2005

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