Japan business lobbies back PM Abe

Major business lobbies in Japan on Monday backed the efforts of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revive the faltering economy and urged him to commit to a Pacific-wide free trade deal.

"The landslide victory of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by... Abe shows people's desire for the government to restore the economy as they have a sense of stagnation," Chairman of the Japan Business Federation Hiromasa Yonekura told a press conference of three major business lobbies.

"It is very reassuring that he is aggressively tackling the issue of rebuilding the economy. We want to fully support him," said Yonekura, also the chairman of Sumitomo Chemical.