TOKYO: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Saturday vowed to step up pressure on North Korea to protect the Japanese people as he wrapped up an election campaign dominated by threats from Pyongyang, reports AFP.

 Polls show Abe and his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are clear favourites to win Sunday's election, handing him a fresh mandate for his hardline stance on North Korea and "Abenomics" growth strategy.

Abe's coalition is on track to win around 300 seats in the 465-seat lower house of parliament, according to a projection published by the Nikkei daily.

If the polls are correct, 63-year-old Abe is on course to be the longest-serving premier in post-war Japan, the world's third-biggest economy and key US ally in Asia.

In a final and passionate campaign speech at Tokyo's Akihabara shopping district, Abe pledged to apply so much pressure on North Korea that the regime would change its ways and ask for negotiations.

"What is needed is strong diplomacy," said Abe, vowing to work with both US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to achieve his goal.

He cried: "We must not yield to the threat of North Korea" which has threatened to "sink" Japan into the sea and fired two missiles over the country.

"We are the ones who can defend people's lives, protect our happy way of life, and open the future for our children and our nation," he pledged, referring to his LDP party.

Throughout the short 12-day campaign, the premier has railed against Pyongyang, keeping a hawkish stance and backing the US line that "all options" are on the table.