TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised to take a firm stance on North Korea, after a predicted landslide win in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Abe had called the snap vote to seek a boost to his parliamentary majority and is likely to use any new powers to attempt to overhaul the country's defense strategy and pacifist stance.
An exit poll by public broadcaster NHK forecast a decisive win for Abe's coalition, saying his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) would take 253 to 300 of Parliament's 465 seats. The Komeito party, which is in a coalition with the LDP, is predicted to take 27 to 36 seats.
Other local broadcasters reported well over 300 seats by the coalition. The official count is expected early Monday.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX