Constiutional revisions, Japan's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership and a policy on nuclear power are among the most pressing issues at stake in Sunday's Upper House election. Because the decisions Japan makes on these issues will have a tremendous impact on its future, voters cannot be too careful in deciding which candidates and parties to support.
If the LDP-Komeito ruling coalition captures a majority of Upper House seats, the parties and the Abe administration will have obtained an overwhelming voter mandate, since the coalition already controls more than two-thirds of Lower House seats.
The Liberal Democratic Party, the Japan Restoration Party and Your Party call for changing Article 96 of the Constitution so the process of amending the supreme law can begin with a concurring vote of a simple majority of all members of each House of the Diet, instead of the two-thirds or more required at present. Such a change would make it easier to imprudently revise the Constitution. The principles of sovereignty resting with the people; pacifism; freedom of thought, speech and expression; and freedom of assembly and association could be weakened or even gutted.