Japan's LDP surges back to power, eyes two-thirds majority with ally

Japan's main opposition Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba puts a rosette on names of candidates who are expected to win, at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo December 16, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) surged back to power in an election on Sunday just three years after a devastating defeat, giving ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a chance to push his hawkish security agenda and radical economic recipe.

An LDP win will usher in a government committed to a tough stance in a territorial row with China, a pro-nuclear energy policy despite last year's Fukushima disaster and a potentially risky prescription for hyper-easy monetary policy and big fiscal spending to beat deflation and tame a strong yen.