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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Japan's ruling coalition wins upper house |
| 2013-07-22 |
| The Japanese prime minister's ruling coalition won a comfortable majority in the upper house of parliament in elections on Sunday, giving it control of both chambers and a mandate to press ahead with difficult economic reforms. The win is an endorsement of the Liberal Democratic party's "Abenomics" programme, which has helped spark a tentative economic recovery in Japan. It's also a vindication for Shinzo Abe, who lost upper house elections in 2007 during his previous stint as prime minister. "We've won the public's support for decisive and stable politics so that we can pursue our economic policies, and we will make sure to live up to the expectations," Abe told public broadcaster NHK after he was projected to win based on exit polls and early results. Official results are not expected until early on Monday. The victory also offers the hawkish Abe more leeway to advance his conservative policy goals, including revising the country's pacifist constitution and bolstering Japan's military, which could further strain ties with key neighbours China and South Korea, who are embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan. Controlling both houses of parliament has been an elusive goal for Japanese governments in recent years. With a divided parliament, it has been hard to pass legislation, and voters fed up with the gridlock and high leadership turnover appeared willing to opt for the perceived safety of the LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the time since the second world war. Abe said voters supported the LDP to press ahead on his party's economic policies, and said it would be the government's top priority. "Now that we got rid of the twisted parliament, the LDP is going to face a test of whether we can push forward the economic policies so that the people can really feel the effect on their lives," Abe told NHK. Japan's stagnant economy is showing signs of perking up, helped by the aggressive monetary and fiscal stimuli that Abe has implemented since he took office in late December. Stocks have surged, business confidence is improving and the weaker yen has put less pressure on vital exporters. Based on exit polls and early results, NHK predicted that the LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, will have won a combined 74 seats, giving them a total of 133 seats in the upper house, more than the 122 needed for a majority. The LDP was projected to have won 64 seats, which together with the 50 it held before the elections would give it 114, short of an outright majority. The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which fell from power in December elections, was projected to lose nearly 30 seats. Voter turnout was low, suggesting a lack of public enthusiasm. According to Kyodo News agency, 52% of eligible voters cast ballots, the third-lowest turnout since the end of the second world war. The Liberal Democrats' "Recover Japan" platform calls for a strong economy, strategic diplomacy and unshakable national security under the Japan-US alliance, which allows for 50,000 American troops to be stationed in Japan. The party also favours revising the country's pacifist constitution, drafted by the United States after the second world war, to give Japan's military a larger role – a message that alarms the Chinese government but resonates with some Japanese voters troubled by territorial disputes with China and South Korea and widespread distrust of an increasingly assertive Beijing. Abe has upset both neighbours by saying he hopes to revise a 1995 apology by Japan for its wartime aggression and questioning the extent to which Korean, Chinese and other Asian women were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers before and during the war. Revising the constitution would require two-thirds approval by both houses of parliament and a national referendum. Polls show the public is less interested in such matters than in reviving the economy and rebuilding areas of north-eastern Japan devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Are they sure its only "economic"??? To wit, * WORLD NEWS > [CBC] A MORE MILITARISTIC JAPAN? SHINZO ABE'S PARTY NOW CONTROLS BOTH [Diet] HOUSES. * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > JAPAN ELECTION [Beijing-perceived "hardliner" Abe] RATTLES {worries] JAPAN - BUSINESS WEEK. versus * SAME > [Phil Star]GLOBAL SURVEY: TWO IN FIVE FILIPINOS SEE CHINA AS "ENEMY". * SAME > [Ex-Taiwan Premier] CALL FOR BEIJING TO WORK WITH TAIWAN [not mil conquer it] TO REUNIFY IN "CHINESE-STYLE" DEMOCRACY | SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. * SAME > [Chinese]INCURSION IN LADAKH PRELUDE TO COMING [India]WAR WID CHINA, SAYS ANALYST BHARAT VERMA. RELATED SAME = RIDING HORSES, CHINESE TROOPS VILATE LAC AGAIN, SAYS ANALYSTS BHARAT VERMA - TIMES OF INDIA. Personally, I think the PLA wants to show to the Indian Boyz that the former are better Cavalry/Horsemen anyway??? * TOPIX > CHINA [Medias] WARN JAPAN OF [overly] AGGRESSIVE POLICY. versus * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > POSTER THREAD: DO YOU THINK ITS TIME FOR A NORTHEAST ASIAN UNION AGZ {both] THE US + CHINA??? NE Asian Union vs China-proposed/favored Asian Union vs Vladvedev, Russia-proposed/favored Eurasian Union = Eurasian Customs Union??? * IIRC MARIANAS VARIETY > TOP US MILITARY CHIEF [USDOD = SecDef Hagel] OFFERS NO HOPE ON FUTURE BUDGET CUTS. Iff OWG Amerika can't looks good like France when it deliberately unilaterally gives up half of the Pacific due to the Sequester, whats the point of going to war??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2013-07-22 23:57 |