Lawmakers in Japan's Upper House of the Diet have begun deliberating the country's new trade pact with the United States.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the deal will be necessary if Japan is to play a part in economic vitality overseas as it faces a declining population at home.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the results of Sunday's Upper House election show that the people of Japan want political stability. He stressed his commitment to pursuing his political and diplomatic agenda, including possibly amending the Constitution.
Abe noted that the ruling coalition won 71 seats, or a majority. He said it was able to receive a strong public mandate to push forward with efforts to build a better country in the Reiwa era, which started this year, on a stable political foundation.
NHK World commentator Michio Kijima explains the outcome of the Upper House elections.
Q: What do you make of the results?
Vote counting is underway, and NHK's decision desk says the ruling coalition will comfortably maintain control of the Upper House. We are projecting that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, Komeito, will take more than half of the seats that are up for grabs this election.
The traditional celebrations are already underway for some LDP members.
Voters in Japan have been filing into polling stations since Sunday morning.
Candidates for Upper House seats are anxiously awaiting the results. The polls are set to close at 8 p.m. Japan local time.
People across Japan are casting their ballots in the Upper House election.
About 47,000 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. on Sunday.
It's voting day here in Japan and people across the country are casting their ballots in the Upper House election.
In most parts of the country, polling stations will be open until 8 PM. Officials will start tallying the votes as soon as polls close.
Voters in Japan will head to polling stations on Sunday for an Upper House election.
In most places across the country, they'll be able to cast their ballots from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.. Officials will start tallying the votes as soon as polls close.
Japanese nationals living abroad began voting in the Upper House election as campaigning kicked off in Japan on Thursday.
Ballot stations have been set up at 226 locations in embassies and consulates. The embassies in Sudan and Venezuela are not participating due to security concerns.
Candidates for Japan's Upper House election are officially kicking off their campaigns, with voting set for July 21.
The election may prove to be a barometer of public opinion on the current administration's six and a half years in power.
The White House says US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to seek mutually beneficial bilateral trade. They also discussed North Korea and Iran.
The two leaders held talks in Osaka on Friday morning on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Japan will hold an Upper House election next month.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided on Wednesday to hold the ballot and vote-counting on July 21. Official campaigning will kick off on Thursday of next week.
A no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been voted down in the lower chamber of the Diet.
The Lower House plenary session deliberated on Tuesday on the motion submitted jointly by four opposition parties and a group.
The Japan-US summit has ended in Washington.
A new trade deal was at the top of the agenda between Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump.
Before the talks, both leaders spoke to reporters at the White House.