Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition has secured landslide victory in the elections to the Upper House of Parliament.
The Liberal Democratic Party, its partner Komeito, and Initiatives from Osaka won 77 of the 121 seats at stake.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition already enjoys a two-thirds majority in the lower house and they need a super majority in the House of Councilors to start a parliamentary motion for changing the constitution.
The constitution bars Japan from participating in joint military endeavors abroad. The current Constitution has never been revised. It took effect in 1947.
Mr Abe said some of the articles need to be changed to fit the times. He said the result is a vote of confidence in his economic policies known as Abenomics.
The LDP took 55 of the 121 contested seats, just short of forming a simple majority together with the seats it already holds in the non-contested half of the 242-seat upper house.
Komeito gained 14 seats, boosting its presence from nine seats before the election and securing a total of 25 seats in the chamber.