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Japanese PM Vows to Push Ahead With Reforms After Election Victory
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday pledged to push ahead with his reform plan of Japan's long-struggling economy following the ruling coalition's landslide victory in Sunday's House of Councilors election.
"The public has given me the foundation" needed to carry out the reforms, Koizumi told reporters at his official residence in Tokyo.
"I will place importance on this foundation, and carry out the reforms in line with my basic plan in a steady manner while cooperating with the three ruling parties," he said.
Koizumi-led ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its two coalition partners, the New Komeito party and the New Conservative Party (NCP), won a combined 78 of the 121 seats up for grabs, surpassing the 63 needed to maintain a majority in the upper house.
Of the 78, 64 seats were won by the LDP, bringing the party's total strength, including uncontested seats, to 110 in the 247- seat upper chamber.
Securing the backing of the public was the first step for Koizumi, who could be at head for a battle with anti-reformist forces within the LDP who are reluctant to abandon the long- dominant party's pork-barrel politics.
One of the first tests will come in early August, when government ministries and agencies file their budget requests for the next fiscal year.
Japan's deteriorating economy is another factor that could pose a headache for Koizumi, who has admitted that his reform programs could lead to a short-term increase in unemployment and bankruptcies.
Calls for the Japanese prime minister to take steps to boost the economy, including the possibility of compiling a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year, are already growing in the ruling bloc.
The ruling coalition's victory, meanwhile, dramatically bolstered Koizumi's chances of surviving the LDP presidential election in September, when the term he took over from his predecessor, Yoshiro Mori, expires.
Koizumi would have to win the party race to stay in office. The LDP president carries the job of Japan's prime minister because the LDP-led coalition has a majority in the House of Representatives, which has the final say in selecting the top government post.
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