Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Mr Abe had said he called the election a year early in order to increase his mandate amid a number of "crises" facing the country.

Among them was the increasing threat from Pyongyang.

The initial exit polls suggested Mr Abe had done just that, retaining his two-thirds "super-majority".

This is vital to his ambition to revise Japan's post-war pacifist constitution - enacted by the country's American occupiers in 1947 - Article 9 of which calls for the complete renunciation of war.

After talks at the White House, Mr Trump said the US was committed to "the security of Japan".

Echoing his words, Mr Abe also stressed on the importance of strengthening economic and trade relations.

Mr Trump had previously taken issue with the US trade deficit with Japan, threatening tariffs on carmaker Toyota.

At a joint press-conference on Friday, President Trump described Japan as "an important and steadfast ally", adding that Washington was committed to bringing bilateral ties even closer.