The most-commented on article on Yahoo! Japan today is an article from the Sankei Shimbun summarizing the likely outcomes of yesterday’s Lower House elections.
The overwhelming response from netizens is that the election has changed nothing, while many point out that voter turn out was low, and therefore the result is almost meaningless. Some of the most-upvoted comments on Yahoo! Japan also expressed surprise that disgraced politician Obuchi Yuko, who resigned earlier this year following a financial scandal, had been re-elected.
From Sankei Shimbun:
Lower House Election: LDP And Komeito Gain Over 2/3 Of Seats Between Them, DPJ Does Not Manage 100 Seats, Communists Double Seats
On December 14, votes were cast and counted in the 47th Lower House Election. The LDP were in a dominant position in their electoral districts and with their proportional-representation candidates. They developed a robust election campaign, and combined with the Komeito, who seek to match their pre-election strength (31 seats), there is a strong probability that the parties will hold over a 2/3 majority in the House (317 seats). In this case, unless bills that are passed in the lower house are debated within 60 days by the Upper House if they are to be rejected, it is possible that they can be re-deliberated and then passed through the agreement of 2/3 of the representatives in attendance.
Although the DPJ went above its pre-election strength (62 seats), there is no prospect that they will gain over 100 seats. While the Communist Party showed momentum by doubling its seats, “third force” parties the Restoration Party and the Next Generation Party were in decline.
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo affirmed his plans regarding the line between success and failure in this election, which was for “the LDP and Komeito to take more than half the seats”. In the nomination for Prime Minister, to be held as a special Diet session scheduled to be called on December 24, Abe will be elected to continue as Prime Minister, and will immediately begin preparations toward inaugurating the third Abe cabinet.
In this recent election, the biggest issue that has polarized opinion has been the Prime Minister’s economic policy, “Abenomics”, and the Prime Minister has insisted that “There is no doubt that our economic policies are paying off”. Still, the opposing DPJ has criticized this, saying “Even if the rich have made on it, most ordinary people have got nothing out of it”.
In this election, 1191 candidates fought for a total of 475 seats, made up of 295 single seat constituencies throughout Japan and 11 block districts that have proportional representation (around 180 seats).
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
tau*****:
It’s as I expected, but will it make any difference?
a12*****:
Even with one thing and another, ultimately nothing has really changed compared to how things were before the election.
Was there really any point in spending sixty billion yen in tax money on this?
tny*****
Obuchi Yuko was elected again…
I really doubt the people who voted for her.
I’m envious of all these politicians and celebrities who can bounce back even after doing bad things.
m87*****:
Tax rises ensured?
men*****:
Are the people from Gunma Prefecture really OK, election Obuchi Yuko again?
kaz*****:
Is this country going to be OK, electing Obuchi Yuko again?
tou*****:
At the end of the day, it seems that we will settle into a result that means not much has changed compared to how things were before the election.
But I just can’t be happy with the fact that Obuchi Yuko has been re-elected.
ヤフオクw:
Before they put up the taxes, I wish that the representatives would try to be more economic than the people of this country have to be.
sul*****:
So that was the result…
Why the hell are you electing Obuchi with an overwhelming majority!!
hit*****:
A lot of people want taxes to go up…
Comments from Twitter:
jun＠紅蓮:
Let’s revise the constitution.
JAPAN ART LINK:
The prediction that the Communist Party will grow is right on the money. The DPJ does not have the form of a political party, the third force parties are the LDP in disguise. The gap between rich and poor in society is growing, and if class divisions progress, class conflict will intensify. No doubt the Communist Party will grow.
painpoint:
How about taking out the Communist Party next time!!(ノ-_-)ノ~┻━┻
ベアパパ:
Nothing will come from this twisted political situation. I think that people are sick of a politics where we don’t know what’s good and what’s bad.
∽लकड़ी∽:
Huh (´･_･`)
緋色有機:
I think that the DPJ may as well disband. As long as they go by that name they’ll never have anyone’s trust.
kodai:
Japan is done for (-。-)y-゜゜゜
Who cares what happens from here on.
vocalist0:
I wish that the voter turnout was higher than the rate of consumption tax.
atsushi kotani:
Well now the TPP will be concluded easily ♪(￣▽￣) The whole nation will be a bargain sale!
合間 生:
So this is Japan’s choice.
minaoishii:
I didn’t go out to vote. I don’t think this is a good thing, but there wasn’t a single party I wanted to see in power. I’m not for the LDP, but there is also no party other than the LDP that have the competency to rule. There was zero choice for my vote.
おくあき まさお:
Well, the thing is, with a lower voter turnout, we can’t really say that this result is the will of the people. What we can say is that there are a lot of results that fraudulently represent popular will. So this doesn’t mean it’s OK to revise the constitution. If they are going to start having a hand in changing the constitution then there should only be representatives who have 70% of the vote or above.
おーちゃん:
Japan’s Hitler is born!
I wonder who’s going to be sent to the gas chambers?
