Tokyo voters rescued Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday, giving the battered party 53 seats in the metropolitan assembly and a new lease on life.
The LDP, which had been crippled under the leadership of then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori just two short months ago, was demoralized and facing the prospect of a major loss in the upcoming Upper House election.
Sunday's victory, however, was taken as a sign that the "Koizumi effect" has breathed new life into the battered party and rescued it from almost certain defeat, based largely on the reform policies of the highly popular leader. With a total of 127 seats up for grabs, the LDP, which started out the election with 48 seats, won 53, followed by 23 seats for New Komeito, 22 for the Democratic Party of Japan, and 15 for the Japanese Communist Party.