Japan went to polls Sunday to elect about half of the seats of parliament's Upper House in which the prime minister's ruling party hopes to re-validate its wide majority.

Polling stations opened across most of the Japanese archipelago at 8am Sunday and will close at 8pm. </s> Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s political coalition has won the partial legislative election to the upper house of Parliament, though it failed to secure the number of seats needed to push forward the constitutional reform it was hoping for, according to results released on Monday.

Japanese citizens had voted on Sunday to elect half of the House of Councillors, whose member serve for six-year terms and have fewer legislative functions than members of the House of Representatives, of which Abe is a member.

The result leaves Abe with a clear majority in both houses of Parliament, following a landslide win in the lower house in 2017. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 71 of the 124 seats in the 245-member House of Councillors in the Sunday polls, according to public broadcaster NHK.

However, he failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution — a signature goal for which Abe has set a 2020 deadline.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the voters,” Abe said in a press conference on Monday. “This is a choice about the political stability and chaos. We asked the voters to choose between these two options and many people listened to our speeches on the streets.

“In this election, the constitutional amendment was also a big issue – it will be finally determined by the national referendum,” Abe said, calling the two-thirds requirement “a very tall order”.

“The people of Japan will have a final say on this matter.”

Abe’s goal is to amend the Constitution – which was approved after World War II – to change its pacifist character so that the country’s Self-Defence Forces can play a more active role. The amendment must be approved by both houses and put to a referendum.

He said he wanted to demonstrate his own leadership to be able to discuss the reform and make a draft that can secure two-thirds of the votes between the ruling and opposition legislators.

Voter turnout on Sunday was the second-lowest since the end of World War II, as only 48.8 per cent of the electoral census went to the polls, slightly higher than the record low of 44.52 per cent turnout in the 1995 elections. </s> The Japanese prime minister's political coalition on Monday won the partial legislative elections to the upper house of parliament, though it failed to secure the number of seats needed to push forward the constitutional reform it was hoping for, according to results released Monday.

Japanese citizens had voted Sunday to elect half of the House of Councillors, whose member serve for six-year terms and have fewer legislative functions than members of the House of Representatives, of which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a member. </s> July 22 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a victory Monday as his Liberal Democratic Party took a clear majority of seats in Japan's upper-chamber House of Councillors.

Despite the victory, the party fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to keep a major campaign pledge to amend the Japanese Constitution to clarify its Self-Defense Forces status in Article 9 of its supreme law. Abe said while the party stance has not changed, it's willing to be "flexible."

The vote positions Abe to become Japan's longest-serving prime minister. The Liberal Democratic Party captured 71 seats in Sunday's election and, with its junior partner Komeito, controls 141 seats.

"Although we have provided a basis for debate, which we believe is the best but we want to have flexible discussions without sticking to our proposal," Abe said, dismissing the party's falling short of a two-thirds majority.

"Many said it would be extremely difficult to gain a majority when advocating tax hikes, but we have the public's understanding. This upper house election was not about winning two-thirds of the seats, it was about maintaining stability. We achieved that goal."

Voter turnout for the House of Councillor's election was well below its 2016 election tally. Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said 49 percent of eligible voters participated, compared to 55 percent in 2016. Sunday marked the first time since 1995 that fewer than 50 percent voted in an upper house election. </s> (UPDATED) Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition retains its majority in the upper house in Sunday's vote for around the half the seats in the chamber, but falls short of securing a two-thirds majority in favor of revising the constitution

TOKYO, Japan (UPDATED) – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday, July 22, pledged to keep alive his plans to amend the country's pacifist constitution, despite failing to secure a "supermajority" in upper house elections.

His ruling coalition retained its majority in the upper house in Sunday's vote for around the half the seats in the chamber, but fell short of securing a two-thirds majority in favour of revising the constitution.

"The hurdle of two thirds in both the lower and upper houses is extremely high," Abe told a news conference at his party headquarters.

"I want to produce a reform proposal that can be agreed upon by two thirds beyond the borders of the ruling and opposition camps," he said.

Abe has long harbored dreams of revising the constitution, which prohibits the country from waging war and maintaining a military.

But public support for revising the document is low and there is discomfort with the idea even among the ruling coalition.

Experts said that since many within Abe's coalition were already uneasy about the plans, the failure to secure a supermajority was unlikely to change the prime minister's calculations significantly.

"Losing the supermajority is not necessarily a major setback for Abe," wrote analyst Tobias Harris of the Teneo consultancy group in a note.

"Instead, by leading the ruling coalition to another national election victory – his sixth in his nearly 7 years as LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) leader – Abe has cemented his status atop Japan's political system," Harris added.

Abe's LDP and its coalition partner Komeito took 71 of the 124 seats up for grabs in Sunday's vote, accounting for about half of the upper chamber.

The two parties already control 70 seats in the other half of the 245-seat chamber that was not being contested.

Analysts said Abe's coalition benefitted from a weak opposition, and voter turnout underscored apathy among the electorate, falling below 50% for the first time since a 1995 upper house election.

Abe's win is likely however to shore up his support ahead of a controversial hike of the consumption tax to 10 percent later this year, as well as trade negotiations with Washington.

The outcome of Sunday's election means Abe remains on track to become the country's longest-serving prime minister later this year. – Rappler.com </s> MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2019) Japanese voters will cast their ballots for 124 of the 245 seats in the country's upper house, the House of Councilors, on Sunday with the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito party projected to ensure a solid victory.

According to a poll by the Nikkei newspaper, Shinzo Abe's LDP and its coalition partner Komeito are projected to secure together 63 seats out of 124, and therefore will maintain the majority in the upper chamber.

Similarly, the latest poll by the Kyodo news agency carried out on July 14-16 showed that popular support for the LDP stood at 33.8 percent and for Komeito - at 5.1 percent, while the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party ranked second with 9.1 percent and other parties having less than 5 percent. Yet, nearly 30 percent of respondents said that they do not have any party they support, which still change the situation.

Nevertheless, Abe's coalition appears to be on track to secure a win in the elections due to the lack of any serious opponents, Purnendra Jain, a professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Adelaide, noted in his comments to Sputnik.

"Abe's opponents are extremely weak and there is no immediate political challenge to his party and to his leadership," Jain said.

The expert stressed Abe's success in assuring voters of having firm hand in foreign policy - not only with the nation's main ally, the United States, but also with North Korea on the abduction issue, South Korea on trade spat and war-time grievances, and Russia on the territorial dispute.

"Japanese voters cannot see any alternative to the LDP and to Abe at this stage," Jain said.

Professor Jeffrey Kingston, the director of Asian Studies at the Temple University, Japan Campus, also pointed out that Abe's main trump card was not his qualities or policies, but rather a lack of alternative among the opposition parties.

"There is great apathy about this upper house election ... Turnout will be low," he suggested in his comments to Sputnik, noting that it would only benefit the LDP.

Despite the apathy toward the upcoming vote, it might enable Abe to move forward with his long-held ambition to revise Japan's post-war pacifist constitution that bans country from maintaining an army and participating in overseas military operations. To do so he has to ensure a two-thirds majority of parties supporting the constitutional amendment. Yet, even this might not be enough for Abe to go through with his plan, Jain noted.

"If it is passed in both houses, the key would be whether Japanese voters are ready to endorse it in a national referendum. The signs are mixed," the expert said.

Abe's ambitious goal to turn Japan into a "normal country," as pro-amendment supporters put it, might be even challenged even with the prime minister's coalition, Kingston suggested.

"Almost nobody prioritizes constitutional revision - even the leader of Komeito, the main coalition partner, says it's not necessary, so Abe will have an uphill struggle. Even those who support say they don't want it to happen under Abe ... Major trust deficit," he stressed.

Yet, according to Professor Jain of the University of Adelaide, the victory itself would be an important mandate for Abe to continue his policies, taking into account that he himself and his entourage had been mired in a string of scandals recently.

"This is the first national election in the Reiwa era. A win by the LDP would endorse confidence in the party and Abe as its Prime Minister. Since Abe has been under criticism for his handling of the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, pension funds and increasing the consumption tax from 8 percent to 10 percent from October, victory of the LDP will give Abe some political space to move ahead with his reform agenda, including opening up the economy and Japan's doors to more foreign workers and immigrants," the expert stressed.

In the past couple of years, Abe's government faced major public discontent over cronyism scandals. It was alleged that Abe along with his wife and Finance Minister Taro Aso were involved in manipulating the sales of public land for the Moritomo Gakuen private school at artificially lowered prices, while the Japanese prime minister was also believed to give preferential treatment to the Kake Gakuen veterinary school project linked to his close friend Kotaro Kake.

Furthermore, Abe's government has been at the center of a scandal over the disclosure of activity logs of Japanese troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, the existence of which had earlier been denied by the Japanese Defense Ministry. Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada subsequently resigned over the scandal.

Abe did not only manage to secure a majority in a snap vote to the lower chamber in 2017 immediately after the scandals erupted, but also get reelected as the LDP president for the third term in September last year, therefore retaining his position as the country's prime minister. </s> Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe enters the headquarters of his Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo, Sunday, July 21, 2019. Japanese voted Sunday in an election for the upper house of parliament, where Prime Minister Abe’s ruling bloc is expected to keep the majority.(Naoya Osato/Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition secured a majority in Japan’s upper house of parliament in elections Sunday, but it lost ground and fell short of the super-majority needed to propose constitutional revisions, according to vote counts by public television and other media.

NHK public television said Monday that Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito won 71 seats. If Abe gained support from members of another conservative party and independents, he would reach 76, still short of the 85, NHK said.

Abe’s ruling bloc has a super-majority of two-thirds of the seats in the lower chamber, but Sunday’s results mean he has a slimmer chance of achieving his long-cherished goal of reforming Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution before his term ends in 2021.

Nonetheless, Abe welcomed the results, saying winning the majority means the public’s mandate for his government.

“I believe the people chose political stability, urging us to pursue our policies and carry out diplomacy to protect Japan’s national interests,” Abe told an interview with NHK. He was at his party’s election headquarters where he monitored results, placing red ribbons on winners’ names written on a panel.

Up for grabs were 124 seats in the less powerful of Japan’s two parliamentary chambers. There are 245 seats in the upper house — which does not choose the prime minister — about half of which are elected every three years.

Media surveys had indicated Abe’s ruling bloc would keep a majority, with most voters considering it a safer choice over an opposition with an uncertain track record.

Two-thirds of both houses must approve a constitutional revision before the revision can be decided in a national referendum.

His goal was already a challenge because voters are more concerned about their jobs, economy and social security. Abe, who wants to bolster Japanese defense capability and role, is now proposing adding the Self-Defense Force, or Japan’s military, in the war-renouncing Article 9 of the constitution. Abe said he plans to start from deepening discussion at parliamentary constitutional review board. He said he aims to propose a revision during his current leadership, and that he is not considering running for another term, denying growing speculation he might.

Abe said resolving the decades-old issue of Japanese citizens abducted to North Korea and signing a peace treaty with Russia would be his diplomatic priorities during the rest of his term.

Main opposition parties have focused on concerns over household finances, such as the impact from an upcoming 10% sales tax increase and strains on the public pension system amid Japan’s aging population, while also trying to block Abe’s ambition for a constitutional change.

Abe has led his Liberal Democratic Party to five consecutive parliamentary election victories since 2012. He has prioritized revitalizing Japan’s economy and has steadily bolstered the country’s defenses in the backdrop of North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats and China’s growing military presence. He also has cultivated warm ties with President Donald Trump.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and three other liberal-leaning parties teamed up in some districts. They stressed support for gender equality and LGBT issues — areas Abe’s ultra-conservative lawmakers are reluctant to back. Constitutional Democratic Party nearly doubled its presence to 17 seats. Party chief Yukio Edano said his party’s advance underscored a growing number of voters who are dissatisfied with Abe’s policies.”We’ll keep working so that we can be a viable option for voters who want a leadership change.”

At a polling station in Tokyo’s Chuo district on Sunday, voters were divided over Abe’s 6 1/2-year rule.

A voter who identified himself only as a company worker in his 40s said he chose a candidate and a party that have demonstrated an ability to get things done, suggesting he voted for Abe’s ruling party and its candidate, as “there is no point in casting my vote for a party or a politician who has no such abilities.”

Another voter, Katsunori Takeuchi, a 57-year-old fish market worker, said it was time to change the dominance of Abe and his ultra-conservative policies.

“I think the ruling party has been dominating politics for far too long and it is causing damage,” he said. </s> Japan's main opposition party chose a half-Taiwanese former model and TV anchorwoman as its new leader Thursday, as it looks to reboot its fortunes after four years in the political wilderness.

The telegenic Renho, a 48-year-old who goes by only one name, trounced her opponents -- including a former foreign minister -- to take the helm of the beleaguered Democratic Party.

The one-time journalist earned the nickname "Hissatsu" (shoot-to-kill) for her style of grilling bureaucrats over public waste, in a country where the media are often criticised for pulling their punches.

"I'll stand at the forefront of our fight to rebuild the party to win an election again," Renho said, after being declared the winner.

Renho's Taiwanese heritage -- her father is from the island, a former Japanese colony -- became an issue during the vote.

She was forced to apologise after it emerged she had never given up her Taiwanese citizenship. Japan does not allow adults to hold dual nationality.

With the exception of its television personalities, largely ethnically homogenous Japan is unused to seeing mixed-race people in public positions.

However, last week a half-Indian beauty queen was crowned Miss Japan. That came a year after a black woman claimed the title, and faced an ugly backlash on social media.

Renho first came to national prominence in the 1980s as a model and later as a TV newscaster, reporting from the quake-devastated city of Kobe in 1995.

She sparked controversy in 2010 when she posed for a magazine shoot inside parliament for Vogue Nippon, the Japanese version of the international fashion monthly.

The centre-left Democratic Party that she now leads faces a huge battle to revive flagging fortunes, with premier Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition boasting a majority in both houses of parliament.

The party -- formerly known as the Democratic Party of Japan before merging with a smaller party in March -- swept to power in 2009, ousting Abe's Liberal Democratic Party after more than half a century of conservative dominance.

But a series of mis-steps and policy flip-flops, along with its shambolic handling of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, cost it dearly in the polls, and it was booted from office in 2012. </s> Still up in the air, however, is whether the ruling bloc and its allies will keep the two-thirds “supermajority”

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc is set to keep a solid majority in Japan’s upper house election on Sunday and with allies could seal the two-thirds majority needed to keep alive his dream of revising the pacifist constitution, an NHK exit poll showed.

Abe, who took office in December 2012 pledging to restart the economy and bolster defence, is already on track to become Japan’s longest-serving premier if he stays on until November, a stunning comeback after he abruptly ended a first, troubled one-year term in 2007.

Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner, the Komeito party, will take 67-77 of the 124 seats being contested in parliament’s 245-seat upper house. That, together with uncontested seats, assures them a majority.

Still up in the air, however, is whether the ruling bloc and its allies will keep the two-thirds “supermajority” needed to begin the process of revising the constitution’s pacifist Article 9 to further legitimize the military, a controversial step.

To maintain that majority, pro-revision forces need to win 85 seats. NHK’s exit poll said they would take 76 to 88 seats.

The charter has not been amended since it was enacted in 1947 and changing it would be hugely symbolic, underscoring a shift away from post-war pacifism already underway.

Article 9, if taken literally, bans maintenance of military but has been stretched to allow armed forces for self-defense.

Gaining a two-thirds majority, however, would not ensure Abe’s proposal to enshrine the military in the constitution would succeed, given differences among lawmakers on what exactly should be changed, political analysts noted.

Surveys show voters are divided over changing it, with opponents worried doing so would increase the risk of Japan getting entangled in U.S.-led conflicts.

Any change must be approved by two-thirds of both houses of parliament and a majority in a public referendum. The LDP-led bloc has a two-thirds majority in the lower house.

Abe pushed his LDP-led coalition as the best bet for political stability during his campaign.

Opposition parties focused on voters finances, including a potential hit on spending from an October rise in the sales tax to 10% and strains in the public pension system due to Japan’s quickly aging population.

LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai told a TV broadcaster on Sunday that he’d support Abe if he wanted to seek a fourth term as ruling party president when his current tenure ends in September 2021. That would require a change in party rules.

“Of course, I’d support him. Because he has the support of the people,” Nikai said.

Abe has led his party to victory in five national elections since 2012 helped in part by a fragmented opposition. That pattern looked set to repeat on Sunday, according to media reports.

The main opposition Constitution Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) was set to increase its seats and alongside the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP), the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party fielded joint candidates in all 32 constituencies where one seat is up for grabs, setting the goal of winning at least 11 seats, the same number they won in the 2016 upper house election.
Japanese citizens head to the polls to elect one half of the members of the country's House of Councillors.