Abe sweeps into re-election

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a comfortable re-election on late Sunday in a snap poll he had billed as a referendum on his economic policies, but a record low voter turnout threatened to cloud any mandate.

Despite only around half of voters casting a ballot, the conservative Abe claimed popular endorsement for his mix of nationalism and “Abenomics”—a signature plan to fix the country’s flaccid economy that enjoyed early success but faded into a recession.