Paradoxically, as the Japanese economy weakened, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has actually grown stronger.

CNN: NEW EYE OF THE STORM

Similarly, the massive erosion of the power of the Liberal Democratic Party, which had brought immense prosperity to the Japanese, was something few could imagine.

CNN: LETTERS AND COMMENT

But that is how the Liberal Democratic Party's landslide victory is being interpreted by global investors, if not Japanese voters themselves.

BBC: New Year messages from Japan

Just ask former Japanese prime minister Hashimoto Ryutaro (No. 17 last year), now out of office after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party was trounced in parliamentary upper house elections last July.

CNN: THE SPOTLIGHT PASSES ON