Japanese Press Review

Japan's general election, which took place on Sunday, had, as the Wall Street Journal Asia noted, "an unusual twist: there was an actual contest for power". After almost 50 years in government, the Liberal Democratic party (LDP) experienced the uncomfortable sensation of the Democratic Party of Japan nipping at its heels as it gained 40 seats in the lower house.

Although the ruling coalition was victorious, its majority was cut substantially, and the LDP lost its independent majority in the lower house, securing just 237 of the 480 seats - a result the Mainichi Daily News claimed had "cast a shadow over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration". The Asahi Shimbun said the problem for the coalition was that Mr Koizumi "was unable to translate his dynamic personality into votes". He was, however, able to bolster the LDP's position yesterday by persuading three independents to join and brokering a merger between the LDP and the New Conservative Party, which took the LDP back up to 244 seats.

In the Japan Times, Hugh Cortazzi, a former British ambassador to Japan, was moved to compare the situation with the recent transformation of the British Conservative party into a credible opposition. "Britain and Japan both need healthy opposition parties that can maintain careful scrutiny of the actions and policies of the government in power and offer a real alternative government-in-waiting," he said. "Power corrupts, and needs to be curbed."

The Yomiuri Shimbun provided the re-elected government with a handy checklist: "The government is urged to immediately start making its utmost efforts to rehabilitate the Japanese economy; reform the social security system, including the pension programme; reform the four road-related public corporations and three postal services; and make progress on the so-called 'trinity' reform of local governments' fiscal conditions. With international situations, such as those in Iraq and North Korea, growing strained, the government will be asked to respond appropriately, based on the country's national interests."