Results are in for the upper house elections in Japan. The coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party (Jiminto) and the Komei Party (Komeito) now controls the majority of seats in the House of Councillors. Until this election, while the Prime Minister was from the LDP, the upper house was dominated by the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto). Needless to say, this meant there was a lot of opposition to legislation for opposition's sake.
The big winner was, as everyone predicted, the Liberal Democrats. What is new is the emergence of the Komei Party as the second most powerful party.
As for actual votes, in Japanese elections voters cast two ballots: one for a candidate by name and one for a party.
In round figures, this is how the party votes ("hirei-ku") turned out:
18.4 million for the Liberal Democrats (Prime Minister Abe, chief)
7.6 million for the Komei Party (Natsuo Yamaguchi, chief)
7.1 million for the Democratic Party of Japan
6.3 million for Ishin Kai (Toru Hashimoto, chief)
5.1 million for the Japan Communist Party
4.8 million for the Minna no To
1.3 million for the Socialist Party of Japan
0.9 million for the Seikatsu no To (Ichiro Ozawa, chief)
(the rest for miscellaneous small parties)
Okinawa Looks Like This
Peaceful: a beautiful place for a walk
自己紹介
- Chura
- Born and raised in the USA (NJ), I’ve spent most of my adult life in Japan. One of my favorite places in Japan is Okinawa. To me, Okinawa is a land of stories and an island of music, magic and mystery. The music is shima-uta, songs sung to the rhythm of a three-stringed lute called a sanshin. The magic is in the colors of land, sea and sky. The mystery? Mystery begins where the line between legend and verifiable human memories begins to blur. I am a member of the Archaeological Institute of America, chapter chief of a sanshin study society, and a founding member of the Marine Culture Research Association of Okinawa.