Japanese prime minister’s future in doubt after crushing upper house defeat

JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government suffered a crushing defeat in upper house elections yesterday but the conservative leader insisted he would stay in power.

Exit polls said that 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.