Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 23 October. Top stories Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has secured a strong mandate in the country's general election, according to exit polls. Abe's Liberal Democratic party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, were on course to win 311 seats, keeping its two-thirds "supermajority" in the 465-member lower house, an exit poll by TBS television found. Some other broadcasters had the ruling bloc slightly below the two-thirds mark. Abe's push to revise his country's pacifist constitution proved popular with voters, as did his experience in the top job against untested opposition parties. While Abe's personal popularity remains low, support for his uncompromising stance on North Korea has risen following the regime's recent launch of two ballistic missiles over the northern island of Hokkaido and its threat to "sink" Japan. Analysts said regional tensions centred on North Korea had dissuaded many voters from taking a leap into the political unknown. "The situation in the world is not stable in many aspects and I believe the LDP is the only party we can depend on," Kyoko Ichida, a Tokyo resident, said after casting her vote. Abe, who has emerged as Donald Trump's key ally in the president's tough line against Pyongyang, said "all options" – including military force – remained on the table. "At a time when North Korea is threatening us and increasing tensions, we must never waver," he said in his final campaign speech on Saturday. "We must not yield to the threat of North Korea." A refugee held by Australia on Nauru has pleaded with the government to be reunited with his pregnant wife in Brisbane, so he can be present for the birth of his first child. Mohammed Farahi has been held on Nauru for more than four years. His wife, Ahin (not her real name), is in detention in Brisbane, 24 weeks pregnant with their first child. On Nauru, Ahin was acutely unwell with hyperemesis gravidarum – severe morning sickness – and her pregnancy was further complicated when she contracted dengue fever. Australian doctors have stated she is too unwell to return to Nauru, where medical facilities are inadequate to treat her condition. But Mohammed has been told by Australian authorities he will not be allowed to support his wife when she gives birth, nor see his child. The national motorists lobby group AAA wants Australia to set up real-world vehicle fuel efficiency testing because it claims drivers are not getting accurate results from lab tests. But green groups are calling foul, and say this latest push is just a delaying tactic to stop the government adopting tough new emissions and fuel efficiency standards for cars. Having delivered a long-awaited electricity plan last week, it's clear the Turnbull government is facing fresh emissions skirmishes – this time on the roads. The activist group GetUp has been warned the electoral commission could rule it is an "associated entity" of Labor and the Greens, and is writing to its members to about it. The group has argued in a lengthy submission to the AEC that it is independent of any political party, as it did successfully in 2005 and 2010, but its letter to members says: "This time is different … the AEC's preliminary review seems stacked against us." Under electoral law an associated entity is one controlled by or "operates wholly or to a significant extent for the benefit" of a registered political party. Associated entities face more stringent reporting requirements, including disclosure of donations. A comprehensive review of studies into the development and wellbeing of children raised in same-sex-parented families has found they compare well with those raised by heterosexual couples. The review, publish in the Australian Medical Journal, covered three decades of peer-reviewed research and found children raised in same-sex-parented families did as well emotionally, socially and educationally as their peers. The study's findings will undercut one of the arguments that have been used by the No campaign: that children need both a mother and a father to flourish. Sport Tottenham Hotspur secured an emphatic 4-1 victory over Liverpool overnight in a match in which Harry Kane shone. Tottenham's vivacious, springing attacks on Liverpool's dozy, fluffy underbelly were at times brutal to watch. Australia's first win over the All Blacks in two years was an indicator of how far Michael Cheika's side have come in just a few months. The Wallabies no longer just believe they can beat the world's No 1 side – they know it. Thinking time | 
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Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe puts a red rose on name of a party's candidate to be elected in the lower house election. Photograph: Kimimasa Mayama/EPA 
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