Elections end with PM tipped to retain power

Nationwide elections ended today in Japan with exit polls showing a win for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who would retain power with a bolstered mandate for economic reform.

Facing his first test in lower house polls since taking power more than two years ago, Koizumi had called the tightly contested race a test of his ruling party’s public support. All 480 seats in the more powerful chamber, including his own, were up for grabs.