TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he aims to consolidate his power in parliament by winning the upper house elections slated for this summer, as holding a full majority in both houses will make it easier for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to pass legislation.

"In order to achieve results, we need a stable basis. We have to win the House of Councillors election," Abe was quoted as saying to a meeting of his supporters in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, the westernmost prefecture on Honshu island.

Abe, who also doubles at the LDP's president, said Monday that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that was agreed to last October and will greatly see trade tariffs eliminated or largely reduced between 12 Pacific nations, will be of significant benefit to Japan.

Abe has been visiting his constituency in western Japan to drum up support for his party ahead of the upper house elections and quell fears in rural areas that the TPP deal, while being a boon for exports, may pummel local agricultural business as reduced trade tariffs will allow for an influx of cheaper competition from overseas.

The prime minister during his trip which spanned Monday, a national holiday here, also said that Japan would increase sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) following its fourth testing last week of a nuclear device. (Xinhua)