Japan's ruling coalition wins Tokyo metropolitan assembly election

Japan's ruling coalition, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and its key ally the New Komeito Party, won the election for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly and secured majority in the 127-seat assembly on Sunday. The coalition together got 82 seats in the assembly as the LDP secured 59 seats and the New Komeito Party got 23, meaning that all candidates running for the ruling coalition succeeded in the election. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the largest opposition, only secured 15 seats, compared with 43 before the election, while the Japanese Communist Party increased by 9 seats to 17. The Japan Restoration Party that co-headed by former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara only got two seats, probably dragged by the controversial words on wartime brothels made by the party's another leader Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka. Local media reported that Hashimoto may step down from the party's post depending on the result. Voter turnout stood at 43.50 percent, down from 54.49 percent in the previous election in 2009, according to Japan's Kyodo News. The local assembly election, which kicked off on Sunday, was widely considered as the prelude of the upper house election to be held in July. Meanwhile, a latest survey released Sunday showed that the LDP had the highest support rate in the upper house election, far exceeding that of the major opposition, the DPJ. The survey, which conducted by Kyodo through telephone across the country, showed that 28.8 percent of the respondents intend to vote for the ruling LDP and 6 percent support its ally. The DPJ, the largest party in the 242-seat chamber, only got a read of 8.2 percent, while 4.8 percent of the respondents said they support the Japan Restoration Party. It said that about 56.4 percent showed their support to the ruling coalition to win the majority in the upper house, with 27.9 percent saying they do not, adding that about 37.7 percent of the respondents said they had not decided which party to vote for. The survey, to which 1,224 eligible voters responded, said the support rate for the cabinet of Abe stood at 65.6 percent, down from 68.0 percent in an earlier survey conducted by Kyodo in June 1 and 2. According to the survey, 35.4 percent will focus on economic stimulus measures and 28.3 percent said they will examine social security policies. About 50.4 percent of the respondents said they support the LDP' s attempt to revise the country's pacifist constitution, with 33. 5 percent of opposition.