Ruling party wins Japanese General Election

A great victory to Fumio Kishida

No need to form an Alliance

(Sujith Mangala De Silva and Rumi Speelberg)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party received a great mandate by winning 259 seats and securing a satisfactory outcome for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the General Election of Japan held on Sunday (31). Accordingly Fumio Kishida, who became the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party at the beginning of October will become the Prime Minister.

At least 233 seats should be won for a single party to establish a government. Hence the Liberal Democratic will not require to form an alliance with the Comeito party as earlier. Winning the election with such a mandate has surprised Political Analysts.

The popularity of the Liberal Democratic Partycame down in the wake of the COVID -19 pandemic. The former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Prime Minister had resigned from the party, saying that he could not rule the country in the face of the COVID pandemic while apologizing from the public.

Accordingly, the 64-year-old Kishida became party leader and Prime Minister after an internal vote inside the party. He served as Foreign Minister from 2012 to 2017 and as acting Minister of Defence in 2017. Born into a political family, Kishida spent part of his childhood in the United States .  After education he begin his career in Finance and entered politics in 1993 while getting elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.

A talented communicator,  Kishida ideologically is a Centrist, and has stated that his Premiership will focus on a "new model of capitalism", by seeking to implement redistributive policies and expand the middle class, and will seek to strengthen the Quad Security Dialogue in pursuit of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific foreign policy.

Voting took place in all constituencies in order to elect members to the House of Representatives, the Lowe House of the National Diet. The General Election marked the end of the nine-year Shinzo Abe era and the controversial Suga Cabinet. Following the 2017 general election, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) continued to find itself in a dominant position as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led the party to a third consecutive victory, the first for a single Prime Minister since 1953.

Manifestos of Liberal Democratic Party

The LDP manifesto, titled “Create a new era together with you” was released on 12 October 2021 which included 

1.    Wealth redistribution to revive the Japanese economy and empowering the middle class

2.    Tax breaks for corporations willing to raise wages

3.    Advance administrative reforms to facilitate digitalization

4.    Massive investment in science and technology, and funds for university research

5.    Secure robust supply chains for critical materials, such as rare earths

6.    Electronic COVID-19 vaccine passports

7.    Continued development of nuclear fusion power generation, and expansion of renewable energy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050

8.    Expanding support for small and medium businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic

9.    Offer subsidies for enterprises if they move into new industries

10.  Constitutional amendment including the proposed Japanese constitutional referendum to specifically mentioning the Self-Defense Forces in Article 9 of the Constitution and establishing a provision granting the Cabinet stronger powers in an emergency

11.  Raising Japan's defense budget “above two percent” of gross domestic product (GDP) and enhancing Japan's defense capabilities

12.  Support Taiwan's bid to join the CPTPP agreement and WHO observer status

13.  Promoting further nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation