Japan's Abe loses majority in upper house, but vows to stay on

The largest opposition, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), seized at least 59 seats, while Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held at least 35 seats and New Komeito at least eight in the 242-seat upper chamber of Japanese parliament, with the remaining five seats, NKH television news reported.

Despite the defeat, the prime minister said he intended to stay in power and to continue pushing reform policies.

"As LDP president, of course the greatest responsibility (for the electiondefeat) rests with me. However, I am determined to fulfil my responsibilityof carrying out the nation-building that I have promisedand which has only just begun," Abe was quoted as saying by Japanese media.

"I would like to humbly accept the result of the election, continueto listen to the views of the people and move forward with reforms,"Abe was quoted as saying on Sunday.

With Abe's coalition facing serious setback, analysts had expected thatthe prime minister would be forced to resign as a state leader and LDP leader.

The failure to secure a majority in the upper house would not forcethe coalition government to hand over power because the LDP-led coalition maintains a comfortable presence in the more powerful lower chamber, House of Representatives.

The DPJ aims to push Abe to reshuffle the lower house for a general election so that the party may be able to gain a public mandate to form a government.

Abe said that he might reshuffle his cabinet, but he would not dissolve the lower house.

Sunday's election was the first nationwide election since Abe took office in September and was a critical test for the nation's prime minster.

If the LDP fails to grab the critical 36 seats, the party leader maybe pressured to step down, according to Kyodo News Agency.

Abe's coalition government faced a critical challenge to maintain its majority since the LDP was criticized for an accounting scandal in the government pension programme that saw 50 million payments misplaced.

The latest approval ratings for the Japanese cabinet were 28 per cent, the lowest since Abe became prime minister in September, after hishand-picked ministers continued to be targets of public criticism for their political blunders.

Agriculture Minister Norihiko Akagi was accused of mishandling politicalfunds. Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma resigned after controversialremarks concerning nuclear bombings, and scandal-taintedFarm Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka committed suicide.

//dpa