Exit polls said that Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan almost continuously since 1955, was set to suffer one of the worst drubbings in its history, meaning a rocky road ahead for the hawkish premier’s agenda.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government suffered a crushing defeat in upper house elections Sunday but the conservative leader insisted he would stay in power.
Abe assumed power last year on a mission to build a nation prouder of its past, but he has come under fire over a raft of scandals including a government agency’s mismanagement of the pension system.
Abe’s coalition looked on course to lose around half of the seats it was defending in the upper house of parliament, exit polls said. If confirmed, the house would come under opposition control.
But the more powerful lower house — where Abe’s ruling coalition has an overwhelming majority — was not up for grabs, and the prime minister said he would stay in office.
“I have to sincerely accept the voice of the people,” a sullen-looking Abe said in a television interview.
But he added: “I will continue to assume my responsibility as prime minister because my task of nation-building has just begun.”
Abe’s top aides said they did not believe that voters had repudiated his signature policy goals, such as rewriting the country’s pacifist constitution.
“I don’t think people have judged that Prime Minister Abe’s policies have failed or have rejected his basic directions,” said LDP secretary general Hidenao Nakagawa.
Nakagawa’s deputy, Nobuteru Ishihara, acknowledged: “This was the most severe election verdict I have ever experienced.”
But he added: “There are still high expectations for the prime minister.”
Previous prime ministers have resigned following upper house defeats that were less severe.
Analysts said that while the Liberal Democrats were worried that they did not have anyone better than Abe, it would be impossible for him now to govern.
“Abe is finished,” said Gerald Curtis, a Japan expert at New York’s Columbia University. “I think if he’s smart, he’ll quit tonight.”
The longer he stays, “it will just be more and more chaotic politically,” Curtis said.
If Abe were to leave, it could stir memories of the 1990s, when Japan had a new prime minister nearly every year.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso has made it an open secret that he would like to succeed Abe, but critics say he shares much of the same agenda and is prone to gaffes.
Public broadcaster NHK projected that the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition won anywhere between 31 and 43 seats of the 76 it was defending.
It would mark the first time that the main opposition Democratic Party — formed in 1998 as an unwieldly alliance between Liberal Democrat dissidents and former socialists — has been the largest party in one house.
“We realised how strong people’s dissatisfaction has been,” said Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the Democratic Party. “People have high expectations for us.”
Opposition parties have seized on Abe’s woes to try to win over traditional supporters of the Liberal Democrats, such as rural voters who feel left behind by free-market reforms.
Their victory may make it harder for Abe to push through his agenda, although an opposition-led upper house can be overridden by the lower house, where Abe’s coalition has an overwhelming majority inherited from his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi.
Abe was initially popular when he succeeded the veteran Koizumi, but his approval ratings have since taken a nosedive.
Two ministers have quit and another committed suicide after allegations of financial wrongdoing, fuelling perceptions the young premier lacks authority.
Abe was also forced to revamp his campaign to pledge to fix the pension system after a government agency admitted it had bungled millions of payment records.
“I said no to the Liberal Democratic Party. I said no to Abe,” Keiko Yutani, a 60-year-old language teacher, said as she cast her ballot near Tokyo’s giant Tsukiji fish market.
“I’m extremely angry at Abe’s cabinet,” Yutani said. “I can’t leave my pension funds to them.”
Izuru Makihara, a professor of politics at Tohoku University, said Abe had stumbled by trying to address emotionally charged history-related issues close to his heart alongside bread-and-butter issues.
The end result was “a failure to convey a clear message to voters,” he said.
AFP, turkishpress.com
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