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Opposition sweeps Japan election
Japan's opposition has scored a landslide win in parliamentary elections, forcing Taro Aso, the prime minister, to step down as leader of his party.
Aso said on Sunday that he would "take the responsibility" following his Liberal Democratic party's (LDP) crushing defeat by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
"I would like to listen to the people's criticisms and we will have to rebuild our party all over again," Aso, the party's fourth leader in four years, said on Sunday.
Exit polls gave the DPJ a massive win, leaving Aso's LDP with only about 100 seats in the lower house of parliament, down from 300.
The DPJ is expected to win between 398 and 329 seats in the 480-member lower house of parliament.