Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party appeared headed for a landslide victory in elections for the lower house of Parliament, Japanese media predicted as the polls closed Sunday. Public broadcaster NHK and several commercial networks said exit polls indicated the Liberal Democrats had marked a major victory in the polls, easily winning a simple majority of the powerful house's 480 seats. An official vote count won't be released until Monday morning. Voter turnout was high, at 50 percent by evening, up 2.65 points from 2003 election, the Associated Press reported.
