Japan PM bloc heads for election defeat-exit polls

TOKYO, July 29 (Reuters) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative ruling camp was today headed for a devastating election defeat that could well force the 52-year-old leader to resign, media exit polls showed.

The election for half the seats in parliament's 242-member upper house is the first nationwide electoral test since Abe took over as prime minister ten months ago, pledging to boost Japan's global security profile, rewrite its pacifist constitution and nurture economic growth.

Public broadcaster NHK said Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its partner, the New Komeito, were seen winning between 39 and 55 of the 64 seats needed to keep their majority in the upper house, where half of the 242 seats are up for grabs. The New Komeito has aimed for 13 seats.

The ruling camp will still be in government even if it loses in the upper house since it has a strong grip on the more powerful lower chamber.

But without a ruling bloc majority, Abe will be hard-pressed to pass laws, threatening policy paralysis.

REUTERS SM BST1722