The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito steadily gained seats in the House of Councillors, winning more than 63 seats, or a majority of the 124 seats up for grabs, in the upper house election held Sunday.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who also is LDP president, has won six consecutive national elections and now is assured to have the public's confidence in his administration and is ready to tackle such issues as a consumption tax hike and discussions on constitutional revisions. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, meanwhile, secured 17 seats, surpassing its nine seats up for election.
In the 32 single-seat constituencies contested, LDP candidates won 22 seats to blow off 10 seats earned by candidates fielded jointly by opposition parties.
Abe said Sunday night on NHK, "We received an affirmation [from the voters] that we should steadily implement our policies based on a stable political foundation."
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