The ruling coalition on Wednesday dug its heels in even deeper as a political battle for public sentiment with the opposition camp took another turn.
With opposition lawmakers standing firm in their boycott, those from the Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Party and New Komeito passed into law a bill eliminating 20 proportional-representation seats from the Lower House. The Upper House vote, 134-1, was an exercise in solidarity among the three coalition parties, and a move that further divides them from the opposition.
Now attention focuses on how that divide will be bridged -- via snap elections or compromise.