Shinzo Abe secures strong mandate in Japan`s general election
(The Guardian Japan)

The Japanese prime minister´s hard line on North Korea helped him to crush opposition parties, according to exit pollsJapan´s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has secured a strong mandate for his hardline against North Korea and room to push for revision of the country´s pacifist constitution after his party crushed untested opposition parties in Sunday´s general election.Abe´s Liberal Democratic party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito were on course to win 311 seats, keeping its two-thirds `supermajority` in the 465-member lower house, an exit poll by TBS television showed. Some other broadcasters had the ruling bloc slightly below the two-thirds mark. Related: Japan could change pacifist constitution after Shinzo Abe victory Related: `Missile passing`: Japan wakes to ominous warning about North Korean launch Related: Scandals threaten Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe`s grip on power Related: Japanese soldiers could fight abroad again after security bill passed Continue reading...