Shinzo Abe can make dramatic changes – analyst
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a very large majority in the parliament and he can make a lot of dramatic changes if he feels so disposed, says an analyst.
Michael Penn, an independent journalist from Tokyo, said in an interview with Press TV that Abe “certainly has a very large majority in both houses of the Japanese parliament.”
“He certainly can do a lot of dramatic things if he wants to.”
“However,” Penn argued, “a lot of analysts wonder if he is really willing to put a lot of his political capital out for that kind of issue.”
Penn added that the snap parliamentary vote in Japan “is actually judgment on two things.”
“One is that it shows a lack of enthusiasm of the Japanese people for this government ... it also shows the fact that they did not feel like the opposition was offering any credible alternative,” he stated.
Japan’s ruling coalition has achieved a great victory in the parliamentary elections for the lower house and retained its two thirds majority, final results show.
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 290 seats and its coalition partner, the Komeito party, gained 35, while the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) captured 73 seats, according to the results released early on Monday.
Abe noted that the elections were considered as a referendum on his economic policies, dubbed Abenomics.
Reports say final voter turnout is expected to stand at 52.66 percent, down from the previous record low of 59.3 percent in 2012.
The analyst argued that although Abenomics has created Abe’s popularity, but the issues he really cares about are the nationalists’ issues, military building issues and issues that are not necessarily about Abenomics.
“So now the question is which agenda is he going to pursue most actively,” Penn stated.