- Title: JAPAN: Nikkei rises on LDP landslide win
- Date: 17th December 2012
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (DECEMBER 17, 2012) (REUTERS) SIGN IN ENGLISH READING 'TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE' TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE (TSE) TSE MARKET CENTRE TSE EMPLOYEES ELECTRONIC STOCK BOARD BEFORE MARKET OPEN NIKKEI 225 MARKET OPENING AT 9895.68 UP 158.12 JAPANESE TELEVISION CAMERAMAN FILMING ELECTRONIC STOCK BOARD AFTER MARKET OPEN STOCK PRICES ON ELECTRONIC STOCK BOARD JAPAN AND UNITED STATES FLAGS UNITED STATES DOLLAR AND YEN EXCHANGE RATE 83.91 FOREX TRADING EMPLOYEES FOREX TRADING EMPLOYEE WITH EYES CLOSED FOREX TRADING EMPLOYEE IN FRONT OF ELECTRONIC FOREX BOARD ELECTRONIC FOREX BOARD SHOWING VARIOUS CURRENCY RATES FOREX TRADING EMPLOYEE MAN STANDING BY STREET SHRINE BESIDE STREET ARCHWAY IN FRONT OF SHRINE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 39-YEAR-OLD COMPANY EMPLOYEE WHO VOTED FOR LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (LDP) IN ELECTION AFTER PREVIOUSLY VOTING FOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF JAPAN (DPJ) IN 2009, SHIGEYUKI MIZUUCHI, SAYING: "I've got three children and the Democratic Party made a big promise of bringing in a monthly child allowance of 26000 yen ($310). My friends and I had big hopes, but we were all sorely disappointed when it didn't become a reality." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 49-YEAR-OLD DESIGNER WHO VOTED FOR "YOUR PARTY" IN ELECTION, MASATO KUDO, SAYING: "Basically I reckon the LDP won on the back of the Democratic Party's failures. So while we've got no choice but to accept that result, it's going to be essential that we make sure our voices are heard." PEDESTRIAN CROSSING LIGHTS CHANGING TO GREEN PEOPLE CROSSING ROAD
- Embargoed: 1st January 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Economy
- Reuters ID: LVADSTM9A7IBER24F0IEB8SQNUWR
- Story Text: Japan woke up to a new political landscape on Monday (December 17) after the Liberal Democratic Party wrested power back after more than three years as the opposition.
Voters frustrated with the current administration handed the LDP and its smaller ally, Komeito, 325 out of the 480 seats up for grabs.
That translates into a super-majority in Japan's powerful lower house which the LDP can use to steamroll legislation through.
"We gained more seats than expected and our responsibilities are equally heavy," said LDP President Shinzo Abe who is slated to be Japan's seventh prime minister in six years.
He quit in 2007 citing ill health but now, he's back with a basic economic policy of printing as much cash as it takes to pull Japan out of decades-long deflation which has hobbled growth.
The conservative leader campaigned on a platform of double spending on public works and to push the Bank of Japan into aggressive monetary easing and help exporters such as Toyota and Sony by taming the yen.
The markets liked what they saw.
The LDP's dominance propelled the yen to a 20-month low and saw the Nikkei stock average .N225 open up 1.6 percent on expectations of much better export earnings.
The so-called Abe trade has seen a four percent slide in the yen and more than a 10 percent rise in stock prices over the past month.
People on the streets who were disillusioned with the Democratic Party's unfulfilled promises punished the DPJ by shrinking the party's seats to about a fifth of what it previously held.
"I've got three children and the Democratic Party made a big promise of bringing in a monthly child allowance of 26000 yen ($310). My friends and I had big hopes, but we were all sorely disappointed when it didn't become a reality," said Shigeyuki Mizuuchi who voted for the LDP.
"Basically I reckon the LDP won on the back of the Democratic Party's failures. So while we've got no choice but to accept that result, it's going to be essential that we make sure our voices are heard," said 49-year-old Masato Kudo.
Local media showed turnout at around 59 percent which was a new post-war low.
As well as bolstering a sagging economy, LDP leader must also manage strained ties with China to avoid the fate of his short-lived predecessors.
Abe, 58, has been talking tough in a row with China over uninhabited isles in the East China Sea, although some experts say he may temper his hard line with pragmatism once in office.
He also wants to loosen the limits of a 1947 pacifist constitution on the military so Japan can play a bigger global security role. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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