The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition scored a sweeping victory in the Upper House election Sunday that gave the Diet's pro-revision forces the two-thirds majority needed to initiate Japan's first constitutional referendum, final results showed Monday morning.
Four parties in favor of constitutional revision, including the LDP-Komeito ruling bloc, won a combined 76 seats, adding to the current 88 held by pro-amendment forces in the uncontested half of the 242-seat Upper House.
Sunday's election will increase the grand total of pro-revision forces in the Upper House to a supermajority of 164, a critical benchmark that will bring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a huge step forward toward his longtime goal of amending the Constitution.
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