Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was re-elected Wednesday for a second term following the Nov. 9 House of Representatives general election that returned his coalition to power.
Koizumi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, beat Naoto Kan, the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, with a 281-186 vote majority in the 480-seat Lower House. The vote was held at the start of a special nine-day session.
"Because the ruling coalition won a stable majority in the general election, I take it as the voice of the Japanese people telling me to move on with my reform steps," Koizumi told a news conference after his re-election. "Against any criticism or hardships, I will carry on my responsibility to make the buds of reform grow into a big tree."