Abe secures win without supermajority

Ruling coalition maintains control of upper house, falls short of key threshold

A majority of Japanese are not in favor of changing Japan's "Pacifist" Constitution, politicians and experts said as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fell short of a supermajority, although his party still won the most votes in Sunday's upper house election.

"An important outcome of this election is that pro-amendment forces failed to get two-thirds of the seats," said Tadatomo Yoshida, who was reelected councilor in the election. The former leader of Japan's Social Democratic Party said defending the Constitution's Pacifist Article 9 is of crucial significance not only to Japan but also to other Asian countries.