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Japan PM Shinzo Abe promises to deal with North Korea threat Japan PM Shinzo Abe promises to deal with North Korea threat
(about 3 hours later)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised to "deal firmly" with North Korea after exit polls suggested he won a clear victory in Sunday's election.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised to "deal firmly" with North Korea after exit polls suggested he won a clear victory in Sunday's election.
Mr Abe had said he called the election a year early in order to increase his mandate amid a number of "crises" facing the country. Mr Abe had called an early election for an increased mandate to deal with "crises" facing Japan, including the threat from Pyongyang.
Among them was the increasing threat from Pyongyang. Local media report Mr Abe's ruling coalition has retained its two-thirds majority in parliament.
The initial exit polls suggested Mr Abe had done just that, retaining his two-thirds "super-majority". This paves the way for Mr Abe to amend Japan's post-war pacifist constitution.
This is vital to his ambition to revise Japan's post-war pacifist constitution - enacted by the country's American occupiers in 1947 - Article 9 of which calls for the complete renunciation of war. The prime minister has previously called for the existence of the country's armed forces to be formalised, a controversial move which he says is needed to strengthen Japan's defence but which critics say is a step towards re-militarisation.
Japan has worked around the rule by stating that its army exists for the purposes of defence, but Mr Abe has long made it clear that he wishes to revise the rule. Speaking after the exit polls, Mr Abe said: "As I promised in the election, my imminent task is to firmly deal with North Korea.... For that, strong diplomacy is required."
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo says Mr Abe's victory is partly thanks to Pyongyang's actions.
Just two months ago his popularity was plummeting as he was caught up in two messy political scandals, says our correspondent, but he enjoyed a sudden recovery after North Korea fired two missiles over the Japanese island of Hokkaido in recent months.
Local news outlets reported that Mr Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) coalition with the Komeito party has won 312 of the 465 seats in the lower house of Japan's parliamentary Diet - which gives the coalition the power to revise the constitution.
Mr Abe had previously announced he wanted to revise a clause which renounces war, known as Article 9, to formally recognise Japan's military, which is known as the "self-defence forces".
He said he would try to "gain support from as many people as possible" for the task.He said he would try to "gain support from as many people as possible" for the task.
Speaking after the exit polls, reported by the public broadcaster NHK to have given his Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) coalition 312 seats, Mr Abe said: "As I promised in the election, my imminent task is to firmly deal with North Korea. Mr Abe two years ago successfully managed to push for a re-interpretation of the constitution to allow troops to fight overseas under certain circumstances, which attracted widespread protests.
"For that, strong diplomacy is required." Our correspondent says Mr Abe's victory is also in large part due to the chaos of Japan's opposition parties.
North Korea has already fired two missiles over Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan, in recent months. In the lead-up to the snap election, all eyes were on the recently-formed conservative Party of Hope led by the charismatic Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, with some speculating that it would make significant gains.
But in the end it was overtaken by the centre-left Constitutional Democratic Party which emerged as the biggest opposition party, and which opposes Mr Abe's plan to amend Article 9.
Ms Koike, who was in Paris for a business trip during the election, told reporters she was personally taking responsibility for the result. Japanese media quoted her as saying her "words and deeds" had caused "displeasure" to voters.
A win in the election also raises Mr Abe's chances of securing a third three-year-term as leader of the LDP when the party votes next September.A win in the election also raises Mr Abe's chances of securing a third three-year-term as leader of the LDP when the party votes next September.
That would give him the opportunity to become Japan's longest serving prime minister, having been elected in 2012.That would give him the opportunity to become Japan's longest serving prime minister, having been elected in 2012.