The Liberal Democratic Party, holding its national convention Thursday in Tokyo, sounded a note of support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's determination to battle deflation.
In his speech to the gathering, Koizumi, who is also president of the LDP, said fighting deflation is "the biggest economic agenda" for his Cabinet, and added that the Japanese people should be more optimistic in tackling the problem, given that the country has survived such major economic crises in the past as the oil shocks of the 1970s and the sharp rise in the yen's value in the 1980s.
The party also confirmed the need to prepare for and win local elections in April. As is the case every four years, thousands of gubernatorial, mayoral and assembly seats will be contested.