Japan’s Conservative Party Returns To Power After Elections

Japan’s conservative party, which has dominated the country’s post-war era, is back in power after a three-year absence. They won the parliamentary elections in the country by a landslide.

The party’s leader, Shinzo Abe, will return as prime minister, reports The Los Angeles Times. Abe is no stranger to the post, having served once before.

He is likely to pursue a tougher stance on the tension with China and will also likely prevent Japan from abandoning nuclear energy.

The Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) held an almost complete monopoly over the country between 1955 and 2009. They were beaten for a few years by the Democratic Party of Japan, but it appears that the Democratic Party was not able to hold the majority.

The come back is likely the result of a high level of national anxiety about economic issues as well as falling behind China. Takashi Yamada, an office worker in Tokyo, stated that he voted for the Liberal Democrats in the recent election, saying, “They’re more experienced and are a better fit at leading.”

CNN notes that current Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced he would step down as party president after the election exit polls showed his party suffered a smashing loss. Noda stated:

“We got a regrettable result. The result is everything in the politics. The biggest responsibility lies on me. I will quit as the party leader of DPJ.”

The LDP, in winning, is inheriting an economy with problems, regional tensions with China, and questions about what Japan’s role is in Asia. While the LDP was not able to regain all of the voter confidence it formerly had, the group’s victory shows, according to Abe, that voters rejected the “political confusion” that was spawned by the DPJ.