Koizumi Wins Japan Elections by Landslide

Washington Post:

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's triumph in parliamentary polls handed the leader a new mandate Monday to harness his revitalized ruling party and turn promises into action for a range of sweeping economic reforms. His landslide victory Sunday boosted his Liberal Democratic Party's standing in the lawmaking lower house by nearly 20 percent and gave ruling lawmakers a two-thirds majority _ along with a coalition partner _ to override votes in a still-hostile upper house. The LDP's final tally stood at 296 seats in the lower house, public broadcaster NHK reported, well above the 241 seats needed for a majority and the 249 seats it held when Koizumi dissolved the chamber last month. Optimism about the results sent Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei stock index surging 1.8 percent in early trading.

Should be interesting to watch the reforms in Japan and see their effect. I expect they will be very positive.