Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party suffered a devastating defeat Sunday for the upper house of Parliament. It also marks the loss of another key Bush ally. Mr. Abe follows in the heals of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlasconi, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Aznar, British Prime Minster Tony Blair, and others.
Abe supported sending Japanese troops to Iraq and a stronger military role for Japan. In addition, one of his top priorities was reforming Japanese education to highlight Japanese nationalism. His administration was plagued by scandal (leading to the suicide of one of his cabinet ministers). In addition, the public felt that Mr. Abe was neglecting key domestic issues such as the economy.
Despite the loss Mr. Abe is not constitutionally forced to resign. His party still maintains a large majority in the lower house, which is responsible for choosing the Prime Minister. But it is usually custom that the Prime Minister resign should his party loose an election. Mr. Abe has vowed to stay in office. He will though have a much tougher time passing his legislation and will find himself increasingly blocked by the Upper House.
Perhaps Mr. Bush can give him some lessons on what it feels like to preside over a party that has lost legislative power.
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