lynnro: Japan upper house election this weekend ? what to watch for

শুক্রবার, ১৯ জুলাই, ২০১৩

The governing LDP/new Komeito are on track to win an upper house majority
There are 121 seats up for grabs
The government currently holds 59 of them
They need 63 to get a majority
If the LDP win 72 seats they will get an upper house majority in their own right (and not need their coalition partner there)
The more seats the LDP win at this election, the greater the mandate Abe will have within his own party to proceed with difficult reforms. All the polls virtually assure he will win a majority so he wont have to worry about opposition parties obstructing him in his reform efforts, what he does have to worry about are powerful interests within his own party obstructing reforms. hence, the bigger the majority the more his power will be within his own party. Winning 72 seats, though, does not appear to be the most likely outcome. most polls have the LDP winning 65-68, not 72.

?Looking good, Shinzo?
?Feeling good, Eamonn?

lynnro