Twitter tops 200 million active users

SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter said Tuesday the number of active users of the service has topped 200 million, in a sign of the sizzling growth of the messaging platform.

News of the milestone came in a tweet, of course, from the official Twitter account: "There are now more than 200M monthly active twitter users. You are the pulse of the planet. We're grateful for your ongoing support!"

The number was the first official estimate from Twitter since it claimed 140 million active users.

Twitter offered no details on the latest update, but in the past has said the majority of active users were in the United States.

Outside analysts have provided various estimates for Twitter, which is privately held and thus not required to disclose most business data.

Earlier this year, a French-based research firm said over 500 million people are on the micro-blogging site, with Americans and Brazilians the most connected.

Another group, Sys-Con media, estimated last month that Twitter had over 465 million accounts and that the number of daily tweets had topped 175 million.

A recent survey found one in seven Americans who go online use Twitter and eight percent do so every day.

- AFP/fa

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Shiv Sena removes temporary memorial of Bal Thackeray from Shivaji Park

MUMBAI: The month-long stand-off between the state government and the Shiv Sena over the temporary memorial erected to deceased Sena chief Bal Thackeray at Shivaji Park ended in the government's favour early on Tuesday morning with the saffron party entirely removing the structure and immersing it in the sea in a hush-hush operation conducted amidst tight security.

TOI had reported in its late edition on Monday that Shiv Sainiks had put up screens round the platform and begun dismantling it.

At 3am Tuesday, sources said Sainiks tried to shift the memorial to an alternative site in the park, between the Shivaji statue and Shivaji Park Nagrik Sangh, but police foiled the attempt. By 8am, the 'chowthara' (platform), bricks and other materials used to erect the memorial, as well as a diya lit as an 'eternal flame' were immersed in the sea off Dadar beach. Hundreds of cops were deployed at the park after the dismantling.

For a month since Thackeray's cremation on November 18 at the park, several Sena leaders kept demanding a permanent memorial there.

After a climbdown from having a grand memorial, Sena leaders like MP Sanjay Raut insisted that the samadhi site would not be given up. Finally, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said the temporary memorial would be shifted to another spot in the park. Meanwhile, the government remained firm that no further permanent construction could be legally allowed inside the park. While Raut wrote to the BMC saying the structure would be removed on December 17, a month after Thackeray's death, other Sena leaders had said it would not be touched until the BMC gave an alternative site.

However, though the structure has not been relocated in the ground, the Sena is still pressing its demand for a memorial. At the BMC group leader's meeting on Tuesday, the Sena tabled a proposal for a 40-by-20-foot space in the park for a memorial. Sainiks also plan to ask for a plot on a BMC ground opposite Shivaji Park.

The dismantling plans were initially guarded in secrecy. At midnight, while bhajans were sung at the site, senior Sena leaders refused to part with any information about the temporary structure. At around 1am, digging began around the makeshift memorial. It was done by men working for the same contractor who had set up the memorial. Green cloth was hung on a bamboo framework to shield the memorial from public view. "We want to shield the memorial during the removal. We don't want to give the media a single visual while dismantling this. Our feelings should be taken into consideration as this is sacred to us," said a Sena corporator.

By 2.30am, the actual removal began amidst tight police security and the presence of a few Sena leaders, including mayor Sunil Prabhu and civic standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale. A soil extractor was used and all the materials loaded into a truck. The ground was returned to the state it was in before the funeral.

BMC commissioner Sitaram Kunte has said he would look into the Sena's demand for another spot at Shivaji Park to erect a memorial.

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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.

"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.

High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.

Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.

"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.

"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.

Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.

Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.

She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.

"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."

After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.

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AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5

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Threat Closes Newtown Elementary School

Local officials closed a Newtown, Conn., elementary school following a threat on what would have been the first day of classes since a shooting rampage at nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Classes at Head O'Meadow Elementary School were scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET, but as parents and students arrived at the school they encountered police who turned them away.

Principal Barbara Gasparine sent an email to parents telling them that school would be closed rather than locked down due to the threats, the nature of which was not specified.

CLICK HERE FOR A TRIBUTE TO THE SHOOTING VICTIMS

"As was predicted by the police that there would be some threats, the police were prepared and have us in lockdown, which is our normal procedure. Due to the situation, students will not come to school today. Please make arrangements to keep them home," Gasparine wrote parents in an email obtained by ABC News.

Newtown police would not specify the type of threat, calling the school closure a "precautionary measure" in the wake of last week's shooting that left 20 children and six adults of Sandy Hook dead.

Reporters at the school to cover the arrival of Newtown students on the first day since the massacre were pushed back by police a quarter of mile away from the school.

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Sandy Hook Shooting: What Was Wrong with Adam Lanza? Watch Video

Sandy Hook Elementary and Head O'Meadow are 4.5 miles away from each other, and in the same district.

Sandy Hook is classified an active crime scene and will remain closed "indefinitely," according to authorities.

Officials are moving furniture and supplies from Sandy Hook classrooms to a former middle school in nearby Monroe, Conn. A start date for those students has yet to be determined.

Teachers photographed their classrooms at Sandy Hook and are recreating them -- down to the crayons left on students desks -- at the new site in Monroe, in an attempt to make incoming students feel as comfortable as possible.

New security systems are being installed at Chalk Hill school, and Newtown councilman Steve Vavrek said when the schools opens it will be "the safest school in America."

It was a somber day for many parents who sent their students back to school. Green and white ribbons adorned the grilles of Newtown school buses this morning.

There was a heavy police presence atthe schools-- 15 police departments had been called in to help with security and there were several units at each school, an officer said.

At Hawley Elementary, families walked their children to school. One tearful mother told ABC that the time is right to go back to school for her fourth grader. Another father told us that this is "a day of great sadness" but that "it will be good to get back into a routine." He addressed concerns of a premature return, saying that "There's no rulebook for this...is there ever a right day?"

At Newtown Middle School, lines of parents waited to drop off their kids. One teacher hugged a student as he exited the car. Children in school buses waved at reporters as they drove by.

And at Reed Intermediate, a memorial has been set up in the center island. Encircling the flag pole are three wreaths, bouquets of flowers, a host of green and white balloons, and what appears to be notes.

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Clinton gets accountability report on Benghazi attacks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday received an official review of the September attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, setting the stage for testimony on an incident that prompted a political furor and sharp questions about security at U.S. diplomatic facilities overseas.

The State Department said Clinton - who is convalescing after suffering a concussion last week - received the report from the Accountability Review Board formed to probe the attack which killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

"The ARB has completed its work. Its report has gone to the secretary this morning. She now has it," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

The committee has been meeting in private and State Department officials have declined to discuss almost all specifics of the Benghazi attack pending its reports.

The findings are expected to cover questions on whether enough attention was given to potential threats and how Washington responded to security requests from U.S. diplomats in Libya.

A determination that top State Department officials turned down those requests, as Republican congressional investigators allege, could refuel criticism of the officials - and possibly even end the careers of some of them.

Clinton had been expected to testify to Congress on December 20 on the report's results, but is under doctors' orders to remain at home this week.

Deputy Secretary William Burns and Deputy Secretary Thomas Nides will testify in her stead at Thursday's open hearings of the Senate and House foreign affairs committees, Nuland said.

Prior to that, the Accountability Review Board's two leaders - retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering and retired chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen - will testify in closed door hearings of the two committees on Wednesday, she said.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

The political uproar over the September 11 Benghazi attack has already claimed one victim.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, widely tipped as a front-runner to replace Clinton when she steps down as secretary of state early next year, last week withdrew her name from consideration, saying she wished to avoid a potentially disruptive Senate confirmation process.

Republican lawmakers had blasted Rice for televised comments she made in the aftermath of the attack in which she said preliminary information suggested the assault was the result of protests over an anti-Muslim video made in California rather than a premeditated strike.

Rice has said she was relying on talking points drawn up by U.S. intelligence officials.

Nuland said the final report could contain both classified and unclassified sections, and that only the latter would be made publicly available.

Central questions raised include why the ambassador was in such an unstable part of Libya on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

The five-person independent board usually includes retired ambassadors, a former CIA officer and a member of the private sector. It has the power to issue subpoenas, and members are required to have appropriate security clearances to review classified information.

Nuland said that Clinton - who intends to step down toward the end of January when President Barack Obama is sworn in for his second term - was "on the mend" following her concussion, which occurred when she fell as a result of dehydration due to a stomach virus.

She added that Clinton remained open to discussing the attack with lawmakers herself next month.

"She looks forward to continuing to engage with them in January and she will be open to whatever they consider appropriate in that regard," Nuland said. (Editing by Warren Strobel and Mohammad Zargham)

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Newtown buries school massacre dead

NEWTOWN, Connecticut: Funerals began Monday in the little Connecticut town of Newtown after the school massacre that took the lives of 20 small children and six staff, triggering new momentum for a change in America's gun culture.

The first burials, held under raw, wet skies, were of two six-year-old boys among those shot in Sandy Hook Elementary School. On Tuesday, the first of the girls, also aged six, was due to be laid to rest.

The family of one boy, Jack Pinto, said their goodbyes at a century-old building in the center of the town, the men wearing dark suits and ties. Some 20 children of different ages came to the funeral home, along with about two dozen adults.

All schools in Newtown were shut until Tuesday and the blood-soaked elementary school itself was to remain a closed crime scene indefinitely, authorities said.

"Healing is still going on," town police Lieutenant George Sinko said. "The plan is to try to resume normalcy for school classes tomorrow, except for those members of the Sandy Hook school."

In the nearby town of Ridgefield, reports of a suspicious person prompted the brief lockdown and deployment of police Monday at all schools, indicating the jitters in the United States in the wake of the killings.

For Newtown, a picturesque and quiet suburban community where the 20-year-old killer lived with his well-off mother, the start of funerals was hardly likely to settle the nightmare of what happened last Friday.

But the crime, in which the murderer carried a high-powered, military style rifle and two handguns, may have spurred change in the political landscape regarding rules on weapons ownership.

Late Sunday, President Barack Obama joined a prayer vigil in Newtown and pledged to work for an end to mass shootings, which have now become an almost regular event in the United States -- with four massacres since Obama took office alone.

"These tragedies must end," Obama said, not giving specifics, but appearing to commit himself to a push for reform in his second White House term, possibly by urging restoration of a federal ban on assault weapons like the one used in Newtown.

"We will have to change," he said.

Earlier, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California promised to introduce a bill to ban assault weapons on the very first day of the next Congress, January 3.

And on Monday, Senator Joe Lieberman called for a broad commission that could bring opponents on the issue together to discuss curbing gun deaths.

Each year, more than 31,000 Americans die from gunshots, most of them self-inflicted, but more than 11,000 in homicides -- five times as many as the death toll for US troops during an entire decade of conflict in Afghanistan.

"We've got to bring everybody to the table, including the gun manufacturers and the gun rights groups and the entertainment industry and just regular people," Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent who is retiring next month, told Fox News.

But with gun ownership protected by the US constitution and firearms deeply ingrained in American culture, attempts to restrict access have long been seen as a vote-losing proposition.

Bit by bit, the full picture of the horror and heroism in the school, where the deranged shooter, Adam Lanza, sprayed bullets into two rooms, was starting to emerge.

The husband of Dawn Hochsprung, the diminutive school principal killed as she tried to stop the killer, said she told others around her to hide. Then she "and at least one other teacher went out and actually tried to subdue the killer," her husband George said.

"I don't know where that comes from. Dawn was 5'2," he said. "Dawn put herself in jeopardy and I have been angry about that, angry -- until just now, when I met two women that she told to go under shelter while she actually confronted the gunman."

One of the teachers, Janet Balmer, told CNN how the moment she heard gunshots she followed the lockdown routine that they'd recently practiced, then tried to act in front of the five-year-old children as if nothing were happening.

"We sat in the cubby away from the door so no one could see us, read them a story and talked to them," she said.

After agonizing minutes, police knocked at the door and told the children to leave -- and "cover their eyes" to avoid being exposed to the gore.

"At five, covering your eyes and walking isn't so easy. I just had them, you know, look towards the wall," Balmer said.

No information about a possible motive, or whether Lanza had any diagnosed mental condition, has emerged. He is believed to have first shot his mother in their house before going to the school.

Police remained tight-lipped, but said they are making progress. "We definitely are peeling that onion back, layer by layer," the state police spokesman said.

Newtown was the second deadliest school shooting in US history after the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, in which South Korean student Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others before taking his own life.

In the previously most notorious recent incident, a 24-year-old, James Holmes, allegedly killed 12 people and wounded 58 others when he opened fire at a midnight screening of the latest Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado, in July.

- AFP/fa

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Govt rejects panel’s key suggestions on Lokpal

NEW DELHI: The government has rejected key recommendations unanimously made by Parliament's select committee on the powers to be vested in the proposed Lokpal, potentially setting the stage for another round of confrontation with the opposition and civil society on the contentious issue of the anti-graft watchdog's mandate.

Sources said the department of personnel and training (DoPT) under the prime minister turned down the select committee's recommendation that an official facing an inquiry from the Lokpal not be given an opportunity to be heard at the stage of preliminary enquiry: that is, before a case is lodged. The DoPT also rejected the suggestion that officers on a particular probe not be transferred without Lokpal's consent when the investigation was on. The government insisted that the Lokpal must seek the comments of the public servant against whom it may be conducting an enquiry.

The resistance from the government will delay passage of the Lokpal bill which has remained stuck in Rajya Sabha for almost a year, and prolong the interminably long wait for an ombudsman.

The government changed Clause 20(3) of the version of Lokpal bill cleared by the select committee - an all-party body of the Rajya Sabha -- in order to provide an opportunity to public servants under Lokpal's scanner to be heard during preliminary enquiry; an exercise which is done discreetly to ascertain whether a prima facie case exists or not. The committee was of the view that no such opportunity need to be given to the public servant at this (PE) stage.

The government also changed Clause 20(2) of the bill making it mandatory for the inquiry wing of the Lokpal or other investigating agencies to seek comments from public servants facing allegations of corruption. The select committee had used the formulation "may", leaving the issue of whether to seek comments to Lokpal's discretion.

Another key suggestion made by the committee was that when an officer investigating a case is sought to be transferred for any reason, the prior approval of Lokpal should be required. The government rejected this proposal, and brought in an amendment saying transferring any official would remain the exclusive right of the government. Such powers couldn't be given to the Lokpal as this was the prerogative of the government and these were purely administrative issues, sources said.

Last winter, the Lok Sabha had approved the Lokpal bill amid walkout from the Left, SP and BSP. With fresh changes, it may require approval of the lower House once again which may not be possible in this session even if it is passed by the upper House as the current session comes to an end on December 21.

The government has mostly agreed to other recommendations of the select committee which has delinked the creation of Lokayuktas in states and exempting the PM from the ambit of Lokpal on matters of security, atomic energy and international relations.

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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.

"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.

High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.

Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.

"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.

"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.

Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.

Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.

She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.

"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."

After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.

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AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5

Read More..

Two Adult Shooting Survivors Will Be Key Witnesses

Two adult survivors who were shot and injured in the Newtown, Conn., school massacre will be integral parts of the investigation into the deadly rampage, police said today.

"Investigators will, in fact, speak with them when it's medically appropriate and they will shed a great deal of light on the facts and circumstances of this tragic investigation," Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said at a news conference today.

Both survivors are women and are now home from the hospital after being shot, police said. Authorities had previously mentioned one adult survivor. The women have not been identified and police did not give details on their injuries.

READ MORE: School nurse hid from gunman.

Both adults, Vance said, were wounded in the "lower extremities," but did not indicate where in the building they were when they were injured.

Moving trucks were seen outside Sandy Hook Elementary School this morning, as school officials prepare to move furniture and supplies to a vacant school in neighboring Monroe.

Sandy Hook itself will remain a secure crime scene "indefinitely," said Vance.

CLICK HERE for complete coverage of the tragedy at Sandy Hook.

Police say Adam Lanza, 20, forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, spraying bullets on students and faculty. Lanza killed 20 children and six adults before turning the gun on himself.

Lanza also killed his mother Nancy Lanza at the home they shared before going to school.

"There are many, many witnesses that need to be interviewed," Vance said. "We will not stop until we have interviewed every last one of them."

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Vance said the investigation could take weeks or months to complete. "It's not something done in 60 minutes like you see on T.V."

Some of the other key witnesses will be children who survived the shooting spree by playing dead, hiding in closets and bathrooms and being rescued by dedicated teachers.

"Any interviews with any children will be done with professionals...as appropriate," Vance said. "We'll handle that extremely delicately when the time arises."

CLICK HERE for a tribute to the shooting victims.

The first funerals for victims of the shooting are today, beginning with 6-year-olds Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto.

Officials said today that the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shooting took place, will be closed "indefinitely."

Both the school and the home where shootings took place are being held by police as crime scenes and Vance predicted authorities would spend "months" investigating the elementary school.

All Newtown schools are closed today to give residents more time to cope. Every school except for Sandy Hook is expected to re-open Tuesday.

The town of Monroe has offered to open to Sandy Hook students the Chalk Hill School, a former middle school that currently houses the town's EMS and recreational departments.

Officials in Monroe, less than 10 miles from Newtown, say the building could be ready for students by the end of the week, but have not yet set a date to resume classes.

Nearly 100 volunteers are working to ensure the building complies with fire and security regulations and are working to retorfit the school with bathroom facilities for young children.

"We're working to make the school safe and secure for students," said Monroe Police Department spokesman Lt. Brian H. McCauley.

The neighboring community's school is expected to be ready to accommodate students in the next few days, though an exact schedule has not yet been published.

While the families grieve, federal and state authorities are working around the clock to answer the question on so many minds: "Why?"

ABC News has learned that investigators have seized computers belonging to Adam Lanza from the home he shared with his mother. Three weapons were found at the school scene and a fourth was recovered from Lanza's car. Lanza had hundreds of rounds and used multiple high-capacity magazines when he went on the rampage, according to Connecticut State Police.

Vance said that every single electronic device, weapon and round will be thoroughly examined and investigated as well as every aspect of Lanza's life going "back to the date of birth."

ABC News has learned that both the shooter and his mother spent time at an area gun range; however it was not yet known whether they had shot there.

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Japan's next PM Abe must deliver on economy, cope with China

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's hawkish ex-premier Shinzo Abe will get a second chance to run the country after his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) surged to power in Sunday's election, but must swiftly move to bolster the sagging economy while managing strained ties with China.

Abe, whose party won by a landslide just three years after a crushing defeat, was expected on Monday to meet Natsuo Yamaguchi, the leader of the small New Komeito party, to cement their alliance and confirm economic steps to boost an economy now in its fourth recession since 2000.

The victory by the LDP, which had ruled Japan for most of the past 50 years before it was ousted in 2009, will usher in a government pledged to a tough stance in a territorial row with China, a pro-nuclear energy policy despite the 2011 Fukushima disaster and a potentially risky recipe for hyper-easy monetary policy and big fiscal spending to boost growth.

Projections by TV broadcasters showed that the LDP had won at least 291 seats in the 480-member lower house, while the New Komeito party took at least 29 seats.

That gives the two parties the two-thirds majority needed to overrule parliament's upper house in most matters, where they lack a majority and which can block bills. The "super majority" could help to break a policy deadlock that has plagued the world's third biggest economy since 2007.

Markets have already pushed the yen lower and share prices higher in anticipation of an LDP victory and Abe's economic stimulus. The two-thirds "super majority" could boost share prices and weaken the yen further.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was crushed, forecast to win just about 56 seats - less than a fifth of its showing in 2009, when it swept to power promising to pay more heed to consumers than companies and pry control of policies from bureaucrats.

But voters deemed the pledges honored mostly in the breach and the party was hit by defections before the vote due to Noda's unpopular plan to raise the sales tax to curb public debt already more than twice the size of the economy.

"This was an overwhelming rejection of the DPJ," said Gerry Curtis, a professor at New York's Columbia University.

"Abe was smart to run the campaign saying 'It's the economy, stupid. His hawkish (security) views took second place to fiscal stimulus and getting a dovish Bank of Japan governor and getting the economy going. If he keeps that focus ... he has a chance of improving his standing."

Analyst Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington said the return of Abe and LDP was foremost a rejection of the DPJ, but "also reflects an embrace of conservative views" after recent years of strained relations with Japan's close neighbors.

"Chinese assertiveness and North Korean provocations nudged the public from its usual post-war complacency toward a new desire to stand up for Japanese sovereignty," he said.

The Japanese favor moving toward "a more normal nation status" and are not embracing resurgent militarism, added Klingner, a former CIA analyst.

Abe, expected to be voted in by parliament on December 26, will also have to prove he has learned from the mistakes of his first administration, plagued by scandals and charges of incompetence.

Voter distaste for both major parties has spawned a clutch of new parties including the Japan Restoration Party, founded by popular Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, which took at least 52 seats, according to media projections.

But media estimates showed turnout at around 59 percent, which could match the previous post-war low.

LDP leader Abe, 58, who quit as premier in 2007 citing ill health, has been talking tough in a row with China over uninhabited isles in the East China Sea, although some experts say he may temper his hard line with pragmatism once in office.

The soft-spoken grandson of a prime minister, who will become Japan's seventh premier in six years, Abe also wants to loosen the limits of a 1947 pacifist constitution on the military, so Japan can play a bigger global security role.

President Barack Obama congratulated Abe and underlined U.S. interest in working with the longstanding American ally.

"The U.S-Japan Alliance serves as the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and I look forward to working closely with the next government and the people of Japan on a range of important bilateral, regional and global issues," he said in a statement.

The LDP, which promoted atomic energy during its decades-long reign, is expected to be friendly to nuclear utilities, although deep public concerns remain over safety.

Abe has called for "unlimited" monetary easing and big spending on public works to rescue the economy. Such policies, a centerpiece of the LDP's platform for decades, have been criticized by many as wasteful pork-barrel politics.

Many economists say that prescription for "Abenomics" could create temporary growth and enable the government to go ahead with a planned initial sales tax rise in 2014 to help curb a public debt now twice the size of gross domestic product.

But it looks unlikely to cure deeper ills or bring sustainable growth to Japan's ageing society, and risks triggering a market backlash if investors decide Japan has lost control of its finances.

(Additional reporting by Paul Eckert in Washington; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Eric Walsh)

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