The Liberal Democratic Party, which was badly defeated in the Lower House election in August 2009 and had to give up power to the Democratic Party of Japan after ruling the nation almost without interruption since 1955, made a comeback in Sunday's general election. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the current LDP chief, will regain the premiership. A Kyodo News exit poll showed that the LDP and its ally Komeito may gain two-thirds of the Lower House seats — enough seats to overturn decisions by the Upper House.
Rather than showing strong support for the LDP, the election results should be interpreted as reflecting voters' strong disappointment with the DPJ, which failed to implement many of its election promises for the 2009 election.
It is very likely that voters felt that, amid the current economic and political doldrums, it would be safer to give governing power back to the party that has had long experience in running the nation. But there is no guarantee that, given the LDP's policy proposals, people's lives will improve or that the international environment surrounding Japan will become stable.