Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wins upper house poll

TOKYO, July 22 (MENA) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition won Sunday's upper house election but his long-held hope of constitutional reform moved further out of reach after pro-amendment forces lost the two-thirds majority needed to initiate it, Kyodo news agency reported Monday.

The coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, along with like-minded opposition and independent lawmakers, garnered 81 seats in total.

Combined with seats uncontested this time, they secured 160, falling short of the 164 needed in the chamber to propose amending the pacifist Constitution.

Abe has set his sights on revising the Constitution in 2020 but the pro-amendment camp's failure to hold on to their two-thirds majority means the LDP leader faces the daunting task of winning support from opposition parties if he wants to achieve his goal.

Still, the ruling parties secured 71 of the 124 seats up for grabs in the 245-member House of Councillors - 57 by the LDP and 14 by Komeito - crossing the line of a majority of contested seats set by senior party executives for determining victory.