Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a gambler, and he won again Sunday night.
Based on early results, all media organizations predicted that his Liberal Democratic Party was likely to win around 300 of the Lower House's 475 seats, which would allow Abe to potentially stay in power for more than three more years, both as prime minister and LDP president.
After Abe dissolved the House of Representatives on Nov. 21 to call a snap election, many political analysts expected the LDP to lose some of its 295 seats. But according to media projections Sunday, the LDP-Komeito ruling bloc could together win more than two-thirds of the chamber, allowing it to override any decision in the House of Councilors.