Japan Voice of the Nation, Voice of God

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For a while, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone had seemed headed for a forced retirement. Both Japanese and international opinion makers predicted that his chances for a third term in office after this month's parliamentary elections were all but nil. After the Tokyo economic summit in May, Nakasone appeared to be in deep trouble, having failed to persuade Japan's major trading partners to cool off the country's overheated currency. Worse, Japan's $ gross national product recently declined by .5%, the first such drop in eleven years. His policies of "administrative reform," aimed at curbing exports, cutting government expenditures and opening up Japan's domestic markets to foreign competition, were met with bureaucratic resistance at home. Nakasone also bucked Japanese public opinion by pumping up real defense spending by 6.5% a year while cutting back on education and welfare.

Thus, the landslide victory of the Prime Minister and his Liberal Democratic Party in last week's "double" parliamentary elections was not only totally unexpected but a devastating shokku for the Japanese opposition. For Nakasone, it seemed nothing short of miraculous, as it thrust behind him, at least for the moment, the worst of his problems. Moreover, the vote set records: the extent of the Liberal Democratic victory was unprecedented in the party's 31 years of continuous rule. The L.D.P. candidates won a majority of 304 out of 512 seats in the lower house of parliament, an increase of more than 50, while the smaller opposition parties suffered setback after setback. In the upper house too the L.D.P. gained eleven seats, giving it a total of 142 in the 252-member chamber.

Elated by the scope of his success, Nakasone let loose with some uncharacteristic hyperbole. He called the final tally "this voice of the nation, this voice of heaven, this voice of God . . ." Still, the victory was only a first step toward Nakasone's goal of extending his leadership for another two years. Now he must begin the tricky task of persuading his sprawling and splintered party to allow him a rare third term as party president, and thus as Japan's leader.

Reaction to the Liberal Democratic landslide was enthusiastic in the West. "A personal victory for Nakasone as well as for his policies," said Gaston Sigur, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. "As a result, Japan can take a more responsible role in the world economic community, commensurate with her strength." The Prime Minister's landslide, said the London Times, was a "sign that Japan is becoming both more outgoing and more accessible." Nakasone, commented the conservative West German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, "can be sure that the victory of his party and his personal success will be welcomed in the West."