Yukio Hatoyama, head of the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), is set to become prime minister in about two weeks after exit polls showed his party beat the conservative Liberal Democratic Party in a landslide victory.

Asked in a post-midnight press conference about his incoming government's foreign policy, Hatoyama said that "President Obama has steered the country greatly toward dialogue and harmonisation" in world affairs.

"It is true that there are a variety of major issues in the world, including in East Asia," he added. "National security is important, but I believe this is a time of dialogue and harmonisation."

As he spoke, the White House said it expected a "strong alliance" with Japan's incoming centre-left government after voters ended a half-century of nearly unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The opposition party has called for a strong but more "equal" partnership with the United States and said it would review the 47,000-strong US troop presence in Japan, which has been officially pacifist since the war.

But Hatoyama, who had invoked Obama's own landmark election on the campaign trail, also shares some common causes with the US administration including pushing for stronger action to fight global warming.

Hatoyama also said he would seek to resolve a decades-old territorial dispute over an island chain with Russia, a lingering row which has prevented the two countries from signing a post-World War II peace treaty.

"As was the case with my grandfather, I would like to put strength in resolving problems such as the territorial dispute with Russia," he said.

He was referring to the late premier Ichiro Hatoyama, who visited Moscow in 1956 and signed a joint declaration reopening dialogue after the war.

"There is still a very large latent potential for Japan and Russia to cooperate, and I believe insufficient use of that would be a loss for the national interest of both our nations," said Hatoyama.

Hatoyama was speaking as revised exit polls confirmed a strong victory for his party.

TV Asahi said the DPJ would take 308 seats in the 480-seat lower house against 119 seats for the LDP, while public broadcaster NHK predicted the DPJ would take 306 seats, against 119 for the LDP with three remaining undecided.

"Today the people of Japan have taken courage to choose a change in the rule of government, and for that I am thankful," the 62-year-old said.

"Everything begins from now. I think that this is not simply a DPJ victory but that it is tied to the people's expectations toward our party that stem from anger towards the current state of politics."

Hatoyama vowed "a shift from old politics to new politics -- that is, a new government that centres on the people."

He reiterated his belief that capitalism needs to be softened and said: "We should not treat market fundamentalism as the answer to everything."

"Of course we lay importance on economic growth, but first of all we should push up personal income and then focus on those industries that are unique to Japan such as in the fields of biology, IT, nanotechnology, science."

Adressing the crushing defeat his party dealt to the ruling party of Prime Minister Taro Aso, Hatoyama said that "although the LDP has received a big blow... I don't think this will lead to the destruction of the LDP.

"We would like to continue having strong debates on policies from now on.

"The LDP's basic strength will be renewed, and I think it should be. If not, I don't think a real two-party state will ever take root in Japan."

earlier related report
Japan's next PM cooler on US ties, looks to Asia
Yukio Hatoyama, Japan's next prime minister after Sunday's elections, believes his country should recalibrate its foreign policy to look less to the United States and more towards Asia.

A centre-left leader who has promised to shake up domestic politics after more than half a century of conservative rule, Hatoyama has also called for a "more equal" partnership with Washington, Tokyo's traditional ally.

In an article published by The New York Times last week, Hatoyama launched a spirited critique of US-style capitalism and "market fundamentalism", which he called "void of morals or moderation" and said harmed people's lives.

Not mincing his words, he predicted that "as a result of the failure of the Iraq war and the financial crisis, the era of US-led globalism is coming to an end and that we are moving toward an era of multi-polarity."

Hatoyama, head of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), stressed that "the Japan-US security pact will continue to be the cornerstone of Japanese diplomatic policy", as it has been since the end of World War II.

"But at the same time, we must not forget our identity as a nation located in Asia," he wrote. "I believe that the East Asian region, which is showing increasing vitality, must be recognised as Japan's basic sphere of being."

Hatoyama pointed to the fast rise of China, set to soon eclipse Japan as the world's number two economy, and called for the creation of an Asian community with a common currency based on the model of the European Union.

For now, he said, the US dollar remains the world currency, but he hinted at a looming decline of Washington's influence, saying "it will remain the world's leading military and economic power for the next two to three decades."

For observers in the United States, the article was an indication of the world view of Hatoyama, 62, whose DPJ won lower house elections in a landslide on Sunday, according to exit polls.

Under more than a half century of LDP rule, Japan kept close ties with the superpower that defeated it in World War II and has protected it since, now basing 47,000 troops in the country and providing a nuclear deterrence.

Despite trade disputes and friction about US bases on its soil, Japan largely emulated the US free market model as it rose from the ashes of war to become Asia's top economy, while keeping a low profile on the world stage.

Under former LDP premier Junichiro Koizumi, Tokyo's relations with Beijing badly deteriorated as he made repeated visits to a controversial war shrine, while its ties simultaneously strengthened with Washington.

Koizumi even sent non-combat troops to US President George W. Bush's war in Iraq, the first time post-World War II Japan deployed soldiers to a war zone.

For years in opposition, the DPJ -- which includes ruling party defectors and former socialists in its mixed ranks -- opposed Japan's joining "American wars" and called for a reduction of US bases on its territory.

The DPJ has also said it would not renew a naval mission that has supported the US-led war in Afghanistan when its current mandate expires next year.

But the party welcomed the election of President Barack Obama and pointed to similarities between their Democratic parties.

When the DPJ takes power, probably in about two weeks, observers say it is unlikely to quickly or radically shift foreign policy, despite the campaign-season rhetoric, opting instead for a pragmatic approach.

"They'll want to reassure the US about the alliance and continue to improve ties with China," said Robert Dujarric, director of the Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies at Temple University's Japan Campus.

"They have a lot on their domestic plate, and they don't want to frighten Japanese voters, so there'll be lots of incentives to avoid major foreign policy initiatives," he told AFP.

Whether change is fast or gradual, Hatoyama has made it clear that he supports a fresh look at Japan's role in a 21st century world. A key question for Japan, he said in The New York Times, is this:

"How should Japan maintain its political and economic independence and protect its national interest when caught between the United States, which is fighting to retain its position as the world's dominant power, and China, which is seeking ways to become dominant?"

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