Japan's Kishida defies expectations as ruling LDP easily keeps majority

The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling LDP defied expectations and held on to a majority in Sunday's parliamentary election, exit polls showed, solidifying his position in a fractious party and allowing him to ramp up stimulus, Reuters reported. This adds to the prospects of additional stimulus spending and weighs on the yen.

''While Kishida's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was projected to emerge with fewer seats in the powerful lower house than it won in the last election in 2017, the party retained its majority, exit polls by public broadcaster NHK showed early on Monday,'' Reuters reported, adding, ''the result was at odds with expectations and initial exit polls that suggested the LDP could lose sole majority. Kishida, a soft-spoken former banker who has struggled to shake off an image that he lacks charisma, is also likely to be emboldened by the win.''

''The vote was a test for Kishida, who called the election soon after taking the top post early this month, and for the long-powerful party, which has been hurt by perceptions it mishandled the coronavirus pandemic,'' the note ended with. 

USD/JPY ended up 0.37% on Friday and this news could add to the upside for the open with eyes above 114 the figure.