Japan PM Shinzo Abe claims decisive victory in upper house election

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc won a decisive victory in an upper house election yesterday, setting the stage for Japan's first stable government since the charismatic Junichiro Koizumi left office in 2006.

The victory gives the hawkish leader a stronger mandate for his "Abenomics" recipe to revive the economy. "We want to respond to people's desire to feel a sense of economic improvement," Abe said as the results emerged.

"I want to make a virtuous cycle of improving the employment situation, increasing salaries and bringing about a rise in corporate investment."

Media exit polls showed Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner New Komeito would win more than 70 of the 121 seats up for grabs in the 242-seat upper house. With the coalition's uncontested 59 seats, that hands it a hefty majority.

The win spells a personal political redemption for Abe, who led the LDP to a humiliating defeat in a 2007 upper house poll during his first term as premier.

The ensuing parliamentary deadlock allowed the opposition to block legislation and led to Abe's resignation just two months later.

That "twisted parliament" has hampered policies for most of the six years since and led to a string of revolving-door leaders.