Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would not say Saturday if he will step down if the ruling parties fail to win a majority of the seats up for grabs in the July 10 Upper House election.
"We will win at the polls and, by all means, the ruling bloc will secure a majority" of the seats at stake. "I'm obsessed with that," Abe said in Kumamoto Prefecture when reporters asked whether he would resign if that target is not attained. Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, form the ruling bloc.
In announcing on Wednesday the date for the House of Councilors election, Abe set forth a new goal for the number of seats he hoped the ruling coalition will win. He fixed that new target at a majority of the 121 seats up for grabs.