(AP)
Updated: 2007-07-30 18:14

TOKYO - A day after a devastating election defeat in Japan's parliament, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday rejected calls for his resignation, saying the country couldn't afford the resulting "power vacuum."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reacts after learning the return of the upper house elections at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo Sunday, July 29, 2007. Projections indicated the LDP would fall far short of the 64 seats it needs to maintain a majority in the upper chamber, allowing the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan to greatly boost its standing. [AP]

In a vote for half of the seats in the upper house of parliament, voters voiced their outrage over a series of political scandals and the loss of millions of pension records, stripping Abe's Liberal Democratic Party of its majority in the 242-seat body.

Abe, regardless, said he wasn't giving up his post.

"I cannot walk away even though the situation is extremely difficult. I decided (to stay) because we cannot afford to create a political vacuum," Abe said. "My responsibility is to fulfill the duty to fully achieve economic recovery."

The leader also shot down suggestions that he should call snap elections in parliament's lower house - where his party has firm control - to re-establish his political mandate. Instead, he announced plans to shuffle his Cabinet and the party leadership, possibly as early as September.

"Voters said we must reflect on our shortcomings and refresh the lineup," Abe said. "I plan to reshuffle the Cabinet and top party posts at an appropriate time."

The LDP remains in control of the lower house and thus still controls the government, but Sunday's defeat was a clear sign of Abe's tumbling fortunes and a dramatic reversal of the stellar support he enjoyed when he took office less than a year ago.

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