Japan's top business lobby hailed a landslide election victory by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Sunday as a "major breakthrough" and called for it to move ahead swiftly with economic reforms.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's win "shows that the public approved the reform programs, such as privatising the postal system," Hiroshi Okuda, head of Nippon Keidanren, said after exit polls pointed to a big win by the LDP.
"I want the parliament to pass the postal privatisation legislation as soon as possible," he said in a statement.
"With this as a major breakthrough, we hope political leaders will swiftly carry out the pending structural reforms," said Okuda, who is also chairman of Toyota Motor.
Koizumi won a huge victory and a mandate for his reforms after gambling his career in a snap election that doubters at first said was political suicide.
Exit polls showed the 63-year-old maverick got an overwhelming and perhaps record mandate as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) looked set to have an absolute majority in government for the first time in 15 years.
Koizumi kept the spotlight on breaking up the giant postal service, which is effectively the world's largest financial institution with some three trillion dollars in assets.
Its 25,000 branches across Japan do far more than deliver letters. They are used for savings and insurance and have provided a key support base for the LDP.
Koizumi says privatising the postal system would stimulate an economy plagued by low growth and eliminate what amounts to a slush fund for wasteful construction projects.
Okuda asked the main opposition Democratic Party, which was set to lose dozens of legislative seats in the powerful lower house, to rebuild itself as a party that could assume power in the future.
"We hope they will strengthen their foundation and grow to become a party that can take the administration," Okuda said.