Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's stunning triumph in parliamentary polls handed the leader a new mandate yesterday to harness his revitalized ruling party and turn promises into action for a range of sweeping economic reforms.
His landslide victory on Sunday boosted his Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP's) standing in the lawmaking lower house by nearly a fifth and gave ruling lawmakers a two-thirds majority -- along with a coalition partner -- to override votes in a still-hostile upper house.
The LDP's final tally stood at 296 seats in the lower house, public broadcaster NHK reported, well above the 241 seats needed for a majority and the 249 seats it held when Koizumi dissolved the chamber last month. Optimism about the results sent Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei stock index surging 1.8 percent to 12,915.53 points in early trading.
Koizumi, who plans step down in September next year, quickly came under pressure to use his new strength to deliver -- not just on his cherished plans to privatize the nation's postal savings and insurance system but on issues ranging from pension reform to diplomatic relations.
"If his policies and the party's stature betray the people's expectations, there will someday be a backlash," the Asahi newspaper said in a front page analysis. "As soon as possible, he has to say what he will do after postal reform, and show concrete programs."
The LDP victory delayed any notion that Japan was entering an era of two-party politics following impressive recent gains by the opposition Democratic Party. The Democrats took a disheartening plunge on Sunday to 113 seats, from 175. Party leader Katsuya Okada announced early yesterday that he would step down as party head to take responsibility for the defeat.
The Democrats plan to elect a new president on Saturday, party officials said.
The LDP victory will test Koizumi's ability to transform the party's once-moribund, pork-barrel politics into a streamlined force for dynamic reform and small government.
"The ranks of the LDP's old guard have declined, and the party now has more young members, as well as more women. But its actions going forward will determine whether the party has truly changed," the Nihon Keizai said in an editorial yesterday.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
RSS