Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s governing coalition has won a sweeping victory in parliamentary elections. His coalition captured a two-thirds majority in the lower house. The win gave Abe a fresh mandate for his economic policies. CCTV America’s Terrence Terashima reported from Tokyo.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was under constant public scrutiny after two key ministers resigned over a money scandals, and majority of Japanese started to question the positive effects of Abe’s economic revitalization plans.

Experts said it may have been inevitable for Abe to push the reset button, before pushing through with his unpopular bills.

Abe said he was putting himself under public referendum, challenging the oppositions to come up with better economic policies.

However, the snap election gave the Japanese voters very little time to think and little choice. The snap election caught the opposition off-guard, giving them little time to prepare counter debates or lineup candidates.

It would be a tough year for Shinzo Abe next year as he has to face number of very unpopular issues. Like the collective self-defense, changing the interpretation of the constitution and the nuclear restart, which will surely trim public support. Moreover, he has to put the economic recovery back on a secure path as pledged in this election, and public tolerance is rather limited.

Mindy Kotler from Asia Point Policy talked about Japanese election

For more on Shinzo Abe’s big win, CCTV America interviewed Mindy Kotler. She is the founder and director of the Asia Point Policy, a research center in Washington, D.C.