09-12) 08:58 PDT TOKYO, Japan (AP) --
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's triumph in parliamentary polls handed the leader a new mandate Monday to harness his revitalized ruling party and turn promises into action for a range of sweeping economic reforms.
His landslide victory Sunday boosted his Liberal Democratic Party's standing in the lawmaking lower house by nearly 20 percent and gave ruling lawmakers a two-thirds majority — along with a coalition partner — to override votes in a still-hostile upper house.
The win would keep a staunch ally of President Bush in power. Koizumi is expected to stand by his dispatch of troops to support the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq over opposition objections, and he strongly supports the continued presence of 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan.
Tokyo also is a U.S. negotiating partner in efforts to disarm North Korea of its nuclear weapons.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/12/international/i053539D72.DTL