Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party and junior partner Komeito won a majority of the seats up for grabs in Sunday’s upper house election but the coalition and a conservative ally fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to move ahead with revising the constitution.
The victory gave a tailwind to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to raise the consumption tax and allowing him to focus on trade talks with the U.S. as well as a widening dispute with South Korea.
As of 1:21 a.m. Monday, the ruling coalition had secured 69 seats of the 124 that were contested, according to a Nikkei estimate. That is enough to give the coalition a majority in the upper house. It holds 70 seats that were not up for grabs for a total of 139.
