Biz circle hails ruling campʼs victory

October 23, 2017

TOKYO- The Japanese business circle has praised the landslide victory of the ruling camp led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's general election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament.

"The business sector greatly welcomes" the election victory of the LDP and its Komeito ally, Sadayuki Sakakibara, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, said in a statement.

The election result strengthened the foundation of the Abe government and will help it "carry out policies uninterruptedly and steadily," he said.

"We will fully cooperate with the Abe government in the implementation of its policies," he said. As key policy challenges, Sakakibara cited an exit from deflation, economic revitalization, an improvement in the social security system, fiscal consolidation, energy issues and national security.

Sakakibara stressed the need for the Abe government to "exert powerful political leadership in solving important policy issues at home and abroad."

Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, or Keizai Doyukai, said, "I hope deliberations on constitutional amendments will be held carefully in a way visible to the public as a revision to the national charter is now closer to a reality."

In the closely watched general election, forces in favor of constitutional revisions are believed to have won a two-thirds majority in the Lower House.

Any proposal to revise the supreme law needs to be approved by at least two-thirds of members in both chambers of the Diet before it is put to a national referendum. More than two thirds of members of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, are positive about revisions. Jiji Press