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.
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.