"The LDP does not have to do anything. The current tide will not basically change"
- Tomoaki Iwai, political science professor at the Nihon University
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, led by Shinzo Abe swept to a victory in Tokyo's assembly elections, just several weeks before vital national elections. Japanese Prime Minister's Shinzo Abe party became the largest single bloc after winning almost half of the 127-seat capital metropolitan assembly. It won 59 seats, compared with 39 going into Sunday's election, while its coalition partner, named the New Komeito, managed to keep its 23 seats, making it enough for two parties to have a comfortable majority.
The victory is suggesting an end of the cycle of weak and short-lived administrations that were dominating Japan's political landscape since 2006. Recent economic performance is reflecting the effectiveness of Abe's measures, while he has already promised to do more to stabilize the struggling economy. Shinzo Abe has already pledged to offer a major investment tax break, in order to offset the impact of a planned consumption tax increase from the current level of 5% up to 8% and even reach 10% in 2015. The latest results are suggesting that even despite a low turn-out, voters are supporting Shinzo Abe's policy and he is likely to win the upper house elections on July 21.
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