Abe’s ruling bloc wins Upper House election by a landslide

(Hot News Today • Monday 11 July 2016) Abe’s ruling bloc wins Upper House election by a landslide TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition won a landslide victory in yesterday’s Upper House parliamentary election, despite doubts about his economic policies and his goal of revising the pacifist Constitution. Mr. Abe’s coalition and likeminded parties also got the two-thirds “super majority” needed to try to revise the post-war Constitution for the first time, some TV exit polls showed, although others said only that it was within their grasp. Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito were set to take at least 66 of the 121 seats up for grabs — half the chamber’s total — up from 59 previously, public broadcaster NHK said last night. Final numbers are expected to be announced today. Mr. Abe seized on the election results for half the seats in the Upper House as a vote of confidence. “I’m relieved that we were able to secure more than ... half the seats contested,” he told private broadcaster TBS television about two hours after polls closed at 8 pm local time. LDP and Komeito control 77 seats from the other half of the chamber, which was not contested yesterday, meaning they are set to increase their majority in the 242-seat body. Ms. Tomomi Inada, the LDP’s policy chief, noted yesterday evening that the party had already crafted a draft revised Constitution. “Our party is one that calls for reforming the Constitution,” she told local television. However, Mr. Abe said that it was too early to discuss constitutional amendments. “At this point, it’s meaningless to say yes or no” over potential specific revisions to the Constitution, he said as results were being counted. “I have two more years to my term (as LDP president) and this is a goal of the LDP, so I want to address it calmly.” Mr. Abe’s LDP also won a simple majority for the first time since 1989, a win that will bolster his grip on the conservative party. A push to ease the charter’s constraints on the military operating overseas could lead to tension with China, where memories of Japan’s past militarism during World War II still arouse anger. Japan, which is constitutionally barred from waging offensive war, last year passed new laws that could, under certain circumstances, see its troops fight abroad for the first time since the end of WWII. Mr. Abe said the legislation is necessary because of perceived threats from an increasingly assertive China and an unstable North Korea. But critics have warned that Japan could be drawn into international conflicts, especially in operations led by Washington, a military ally of Tokyo. Mr Abe needs the support of two-thirds of both Houses of Parliament to propose a constitutional amendment and call a national plebiscite on the matter. The ruling coalition already holds such a majority in the Lower House. In Japan, financial market players fear amending the charter will divert Mr. Abe’s energy from reviving the stuttering economy. “Markets want confirmation of Mr. Abe’s strong grip on power, but they also want Abe to use that power for the economy first, not constitutional reform,” said Mr. Jesper Koll, chief executive at fund manager WisdomTree Japan. Mr. Abe had cast the election as a referendum on his “Abenomics” recipe of hyper-easy monetary policy, spending and reform. With signs the strategy is failing, the government plans to compile a post-election stimulus package that could exceed ¥10 trillion (S$134 billion). But economists worry the government will choose big-ticket infrastructure projects rather than implement tough structural reforms. Mr. Abe is expected to reshuffle his Cabinet after the election and speculation has emerged that he might replace Finance Minister Taro Aso, 75, among others. A big win nationwide will allow Mr Abe to assert he has a mandate, but any such claim would be undermined if turnout in the election is low. Voter turnout was 32.49 per cent as of 6pm local time, down 0.15 percentage points from the previous Upper House election in 2013, according to government data. The voting age was lowered to 18 from 20 for the first time, another factor that could yield a low turnout. The opposition Democratic Party linked up with three smaller parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, to try to stop the pro-constitutional reform camp getting a super majority. Ms. Noriko Okada, a 66-year-old interior decorator, said she voted for a Japan Communist Party candidate to show her opposition to constitutional revision. “My ballot came from despair, rather than hope. I’m concerned about the Abe government,” she said.   AGENCIES