Despite some losses, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LPD), together with its coalition partner Komeito, has defended its majority in the country's lower house of the national parliament.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's LDP achieved an absolute majority, garnering more than 233 of the 465 seats in Sunday's elections, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
However, the LPD lost a considerable number of its previous 276 seats to the opposition. Kishida, who only took office in October, nevertheless spoke of a "valuable mandate."
The election was seen as a referendum on nearly nine years of LDP rule under Kishida's predecessors Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga.
Former long-time conservative prime minister Abe, who leads the reactionary wing of the LDP, continues to wield strong influence, which appears to be increasingly met with popular resentment.
According to media reports, the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CPD) was able to increase its number of seats in the 465-seat lower house from the previous 109, after having agreed on joint candidates with other opposition parties.
Many Japanese, however, do not see the opposition as an alternative to the LDP, which has been in power for decades. The conservative LDP ultimately benefits from the widespread disenchantment with politics because it has a loyal core electorate.
Kishida declared victory on Monday after leading his ruling coalition to a strong majority in national elections.
"It was a very tough election, but the people's will – that they want us to create this country's future under the stable LDP-Komeito government and the Kishida administration – was shown," he said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). "We received a precious 261 seats for the LDP. As a responsible party... we will meet the public mandate," said Kishida, who has been in office for a month.
The benchmark Nikkei stock index rose more than 2% after news of the result, which enables the ruling bloc to enact bills on issues from pandemic stimulus to defence spending on its own.
