Japan PM Abe set for huge loss: exit polls

Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative party was set for a major defeat in the Tokyo assembly election yesterday, exit polls showed, as he struggles with a series of setbacks and scandals that have driven down his popularity at the national level.

Former TV anchorwoman Yuriko Koike, who was elected the city's governor in a landslide last year, was expected to seize a comfortable majority of the 127-seat Tokyo assembly, which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party previously controlled but is now bracing for a historic defeat.

While the vote is local, it serves as an important indicator of national political sentiment.