With the ballots tallied and the opposition crushed, observers predict the ruling bloc's landslide victory Sunday amid the third-lowest voter turnout ever for a House of Councilors poll will have a positive impact on the economy and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stewardship of it.
The ruling coalition of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and junior ally New Komeito now controls both chambers of the Diet, and no elections are required for at least three years, when the next general election must be held, unless a poll is called earlier.
"It is huge that the government will be able to make decisions quickly," especially since the turmoil created by the gridlock in Diet since 2007 has delayed or blocked deliberations and critical legislation, said trading house analyst Shingo Kumazawa of Daiwa Securities Group Inc. during a lecture last week in Tokyo.