Mr Abe had called an early election for an increased mandate to deal with “crises” facing Japan, including the threat from Pyongyang.

Local media report Mr Abe’s ruling coalition has retained its two-thirds majority in parliament.

This paves the way for Mr Abe to amend Japan’s post-war pacifist constitution.

The prime minister has previously called for the existence of the country’s armed forces to be formalised, a controversial move which he says is needed to strengthen Japan’s defence but which critics say is a step towards re-militarisation.

Speaking after the exit polls, Mr Abe said: “As I promised in the election, my imminent task is to firmly deal with North Korea…. For that, strong diplomacy is required.”

The BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo says Mr Abe’s victory is partly thanks to Pyongyang’s actions.

Just two months ago his popularity was plummeting as he was caught up in two messy political scandals, says our correspondent, but he enjoyed a sudden recovery after North Korea fired two missiles over the Japanese island of Hokkaido in recent months.

Local news outlets reported that Mr Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) coalition with the Komeito party has won 312 of the 465 seats in the lower house of Japan’s parliamentary Diet – which gives them the power to table a revision to the constitution.

Mr Abe had previously announced he wanted to revise a clause which renounces war, known as Article 9, to formally recognise Japan’s military, which is known as the “self-defence forces”.

He said he was ditching a previously-set deadline of 2020 to achieve the revision so that he would have more time to “gain support from as many people as possible” for the highly contentious task.

Even if an amendment to the constitution is passed and approved by both houses in the Diet – which Mr Abe’s coalition controls – it still needs to be put to a public vote in a referendum.

Mr Abe two years ago successfully managed to push for a re-interpretation of the constitution to allow troops to fight overseas under certain circumstances, which attracted widespread protests.

Our correspondent says Mr Abe’s victory is also in large part due to the chaos of Japan’s opposition parties.

In the lead-up to the snap election, all eyes were on the recently-formed conservative Party of Hope led by the charismatic Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, with some speculating that it would make significant gains.

But in the end it was overtaken by the centre-left Constitutional Democratic Party which emerged as the biggest opposition party, and which opposes Mr Abe’s plan to amend Article 9.

Ms Koike, who was in Paris for a business trip during the election, told reporters she was personally taking responsibility for the result. Japanese media quoted her as saying her “words and deeds” had caused “displeasure” to voters.

A win in the election also raises Mr Abe’s chances of securing a third three-year-term as leader of the LDP when the party votes next September.

That would give him the opportunity to become Japan’s longest serving prime minister, having been elected in 2012.

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Source: BBC

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A study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, showed “suicides have risen markedly”.

The research group said some deaths may have been avoidable as some countries showed no increase in suicide rate.

Campaign groups said the findings showed how important good mental health services were.

The study by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine analysed data from 24 EU countries, the US and Canada.

Unemployment, repossessions and debt

It said suicides had been declining in Europe until 2007. By 2009 there was a 6.5% increase, a level that was sustained until 2011.

It was the equivalent of 7,950 more suicides than would have been expected if previous trends continued, the research group said.

Deaths by suicide were also falling in Canada, but there was a marked increase when the recession took hold in 2008, leading to 240 more suicides.

The number of people taking their own life was already increasing in the US, but the rate “accelerated” with the economic crisis, leading to 4,750 additional deaths.

The report said losing a job, having a home repossessed and being in debt were the main risk factors.

However, some countries bucked the trend. Sweden, Finland and Austria all avoided increases in the suicide rate during the recession.

One of the researchers, Dr Aaron Reeves, of the University of Oxford, said: “A critical question for policy and psychiatric practice is whether suicide rises are inevitable.”

‘Policy potentially matters’

He told the BBC: “There’s a lot of good evidence showing recessions lead to rising suicides, but what is surprising is this hasn’t happened everywhere – Austria, Sweden and Finland.

“It shows policy potentially matters. One of the features of these countries is they invest in schemes that help people return to work, such as training, advice and even subsidised wages.

“There are always hard choices to make in a recession, but for me one of the things government does is provide support and protection for vulnerable groups – these services help people who are bearing the brunt of an economic crisis.”

Andy Bell, of the Centre for Mental Health, said: “The study says what we feared for some time: that unemployment, job insecurity and many other factors associated with the recession are associated with poor mental health and suicide.

“It reminds us how important it is to respond to that need and take preventative action where we can, and that primary care is properly resourced and able to identify people who are at risk.”

Beth Murphy, of the charity Mind, said: “Since 2008, we’ve seen an increasing number of people contact the Mind Infoline concerned about the impact of money and unemployment on their mental health.

“Redundancy and other life circumstances brought about by the recession can trigger depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts for anyone, whether they have previously experienced a mental health problem or not.

“For some people, these factors can become so difficult to cope with that suicide may feel like the only option.”

Source: BBC

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