Business circles expressed hope Monday that the new government to be formed after Sunday's Lower House election will take prompt action to lead the economy to a recovery.

Business leaders basically welcomed the result of Sunday's election, in which the ruling coalition managed to cling to a stable majority in the Lower House, but added that the bloc should consider its setback in the polls as criticism by the electorate.

Speaking at a press conference, Takashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), said the government should put off fiscal reforms until the economy is growing at an annual rate of more than 2 percent.