Japan PM: Blame me for election hammering

Prime minister Shinzo Abe took the blame for the humiliating defeat of his scandal-plagued coalition in Japan’s upper house election, but pledged to remain in office despite expected calls for his resignation.

Crippled by voter anger over a host of scandals, Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party - which has controlled Japan’s government virtually uninterrupted since 1955 - was projected to fall far short of the 64 seats it needed to hold a majority with its coalition partner in the 242-seat upper house.