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 But doubts persist as to whether Abe, who now has a shot to become
a rare long-lasting leader in Japan, can engineer sustainable growth
with his "Abenomics" recipe of hyper-easy monetary policy,
government spending and promises of deregulation.
"We heard the voice of the people saying 'Move forward with
Abenomics'," Abe told a news conference at his ruling Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters, adorned with giant posters of
the premier and his campaign slogan "This is the only path".
"I want to boldly implement the 'Three Arrows'," Abe said, adding he
would compile stimulus steps before the year's end and ask business
leaders to boost wages, which have not kept pace with rises in
consumer prices.
The LDP and its junior partner, the Komeito party, won 326 seats in
Sunday's poll to maintain a two-thirds "super-majority" that
smoothes parliamentary business.
That was unchanged from the coalition tally before the poll,
although the LDP itself slipped slightly to 291 seats from 295.
 Many voters, doubtful of both the premier's "Abenomics" strategy to
end deflation and generate growth and the opposition's ability to do
any better, stayed at home.
Turnout was an estimated record low of 53.3 percent, well below the
59.3 percent in a 2012 poll that returned Abe to power for a rare
second term on pledges to reboot an economy plagued by deflation and
an ageing, shrinking population.
In a sign of the fragility of Abe's mandate, the LDP won 75 percent
of the seats in single-member districts that account for 295 lower
house seats with just 48 percent of the vote, data in the Tokyo
Shimbun metropolitan newspaper showed.
But with the mainstream opposition still weak, any resistance to
Abe's policies will likely come from his allies in the dovish
Komeito party, which increased its seats to 35 from 31, and from
inside the LDP itself, should the economy falter.
Tokyo's Nikkei share average closed down 1.57 percent on the
widely-expected election results after a weak performance Friday by
the U.S. stock market.
PATCHY RECOVERY, UNPOPULAR POLICIES
Abe said he would knuckle down on his "Third Arrow" of reforms in
politically sensitive areas such as the protected farm sector,
although he did not mention labor market deregulation that many
experts say is key.
Hopes for Abenomics were hit when Japan slipped into recession in
the third quarter following an April sales tax rise and recent data
suggest any economic rebound is fragile.
Highlighting the patchy recovery, big manufacturers' sentiment
worsened slightly in the three months to December but corporate
spending plans were strong, the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan"
survey showed.
Abe decided last month to put off a second tax hike to 10 percent
until April 2017, raising concerns about how Japan will curb its
huge public debt, the worst among advanced nations.
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"Between now and the delayed tax increase, we need to revive the
economy and find a path to fiscal rebuilding," said LDP lawmaker
Shinjiro Koizumi late on Sunday.
"If you think about it in that way, even though we have won, there
is no room here for celebrating." Abe, whose support has now
sagged well below 50 percent, called the election after just two
years in office to strengthen his grip on power before tackling
unpopular policies.
That includes restarting nuclear reactors taken off-line after the
2011 Fukushima disaster and a security policy shift away from
post-war pacifism. Abe said he would strive to get public
understanding to revise the pacifist constitution.
That agenda has raised hackles in China, where bitter memories of
Japan's past militarism run deep.
"We hope that Japan can really learn the lessons from history, go
with the trend of the times of peaceful development, win-win
cooperation and respect the legitimate, reasonable security concerns
of countries in the region," said foreign ministry spokesman Qin
Gang, when asked about Abe's victory.
The LDP-led coalition victory could ease Abe's path to re-election
in a party leadership race next September, boosting the likelihood,
but by no means guaranteeing, that he stays in power through 2018.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won 73 seats,
with further gains blocked largely by voters' memories of a
2009-2012 rule plagued by policy flip-flops and infighting.
DPJ leader Banri Kaieda, criticized by many in his own camp for lack
of charisma, lost his seat.
The party's limp performance has raised concerns Japan is returning
to one-party dominance that characterized politics for decades -
although some analysts said the poor showing of rival mini-parties
suggested the opposition could begin to coalesce around the DPJ.
The Japan Communist Party won 21 seats, more than double its
strength before the election.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies, Antoni Slodkowski, Leika
Kihara, Kevin Krolicki, Daiki Iga, Sumio Ito and Noriyuki Hirata in
Tokyo and Ben Blachard in Beijing; Editing by Mike Collett-White and
Rachel Armstrong)
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