The three-party ruling coalition will keep its majority in the House of Councilors -- albeit by a narrow margin -- in next summer's election, which is to be held under a new electoral system, according to a Kyodo News projection.
The projection was made by taking into account the number of votes each party collected in the proportional representation portion of the House of Representatives election in June.
A total of 121 seats are up for grabs next summer, or about half of the current 252 members in the upper chamber.