Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, fresh from a strong election victory, vowed yesterday to stay focused on reviving the stagnant economy and sought to counter suspicions he might instead shift emphasis to his nationalist agenda.

The victory in Parliament’s upper house election on Sunday cemented Abe’s hold on power and gave him a stronger mandate for his prescription for reviving the world’s third-biggest economy.

At the same time, it could also give lawmakers in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), some with little appetite for painful but vital reforms, more clout to resist change.

“If we retreat from reforms and return to the old Liberal Democratic Party, we will lose the confidence of the people,” Abe told a news conference yesterday.

He emphasised that his priority remains proceeding with his “Abenomics” programme of hyper-easy monetary policy, government spending and economic reform, describing it as the cornerstone of other policy goals.

“It is not easy to overcome 15 years of deflation,” Abe said.

“It is a historic project. We will concentrate on that. We won’t be able to strengthen the financial base for social security without a strong economy.

It is not easy to overcome 15 years of deflation

“The same goes for security and diplomacy.”

Abe’s LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, won 76 of the 121 seats contested. Along with seats that were not up for election, the bloc now has a commanding 135 seats in the 242-seat upper chamber.

The win also raises the chances of a long-term Japanese leader for the first time since the reformist Junichiro Koizumi’s rare five-year term ended in 2006.

It also ends a parliamentary deadlock that began in 2007 when Abe, then in his first term as premier, led his party to a humiliating upper house defeat that later forced him to resign.

The LDP remains short of a majority on its own.