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TOKYO : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government suffered a crushing election defeat on Sunday but he vowed to stay in power and press ahead with his conservative agenda.
The election result raised fears of policy gridlock in the world's second largest economy, with the upper house of parliament set to be controlled by a left-of-centre opposition.
Exit polls said Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan almost continuously since 1955, was set to suffer one of the worst drubbings in its history, meaning a rocky road ahead for the hawkish premier's agenda.
Abe assumed power last year on a mission to build a nation prouder of its past, but he has come under fire over a raft of scandals including a government agency's mismanagement of the pension system.
"When I became prime minister, I promised that I would continue reforms to build a new nation. So it is my responsibility to keep that promise," a sullen-looking Abe said in a television interview.
Abe said he would press ahead with his signature policy goals, including rewriting the US-imposed pacifist constitution, and would likely reshuffle his scandal-plagued cabinet.
"I still believe that many people showed understanding for the government's basic policies," Abe said. "But there was also a lot of criticism on how the party handled things, so we have to accept that humbly."
As of 2 am (1700 GMT), Abe's LDP and coalition partner New Komeito held 44 seats of the 76 they were defending, with four undecided, according to public broadcaster NHK's projections.
They needed to hold 64 to preserve their majority.
Previous prime ministers have resigned following upper house defeats that were less severe.
Analysts said it would be impossible now for Abe to govern effectively. But Liberal Democrats were also worried that they did not have anyone better to lead the party.
"Abe is finished," said Gerald Curtis, a Japan expert at New York's Columbia University. "I think if he's smart, he'll quit tonight."
The longer he stays, "it will just be more and more chaotic politically," Curtis said.
If Abe were to leave, it could stir memories of the revolving door politics of the 1990s, when Japan had a new prime minister nearly every year.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso has made it an open secret that he would like to succeed Abe, but critics say he shares much of the same agenda and is prone to gaffes.
Aso and other cabinet members quickly offered support for Abe. Hidenao Nakagawa, number two in the ruling party after Abe, said he would resign.
It would mark the first time that the main opposition Democratic Party - formed in 1998 as an unwieldy alliance between Liberal Democrat dissidents and former socialists - has been the largest party in one house.
But the opposition's chief Ichiro Ozawa, known as a strong-willed strategist, was not out celebrating the victory. His party said the 65-year-old, who has a history of health problems, was suffering fatigue and would rest for a day or two.
"We realised how strong people's dissatisfaction has been," said Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the Democratic Party. "People have high expectations for us."
The opposition has seized on Abe's woes to try to win over traditional supporters of the Liberal Democrats, such as rural voters who feel left behind by free-market reforms.
But Abe's coalition can override any measure passed by the opposition-led upper house as it enjoys an overwhelming majority in the lower house inherited from Abe's popular predecessor Junichiro Koizumi.
Abe initially enjoyed much of the glow of Koizumi after he succeeded the veteran leader in September, but his approval ratings have since taken a nosedive.
Two ministers have quit and another committed suicide after allegations of financial wrongdoing, fuelling perceptions the young premier lacks authority.
Abe was also forced to revamp his campaign to pledge to fix the pension system after a government agency admitted it had bungled millions of payment records.
"I said 'no' to the Liberal Democratic Party. I said 'no' to Abe," Keiko Yutani, a 60-year-old language teacher, said as she cast her ballot near Tokyo's giant Tsukiji fish market.
"I'm extremely angry at Abe's cabinet," Yutani said. "I can't leave my pension funds to them."
Izuru Makihara, a professor of politics at Tohoku University, said Abe had stumbled by trying to address emotionally charged history-related issues close to his heart alongside bread-and-butter ones.
The end result was "a failure to convey a clear message to voters," he said. - AFP/de
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