Abe still trying to flog a dead horse

It must have been a heavy blow for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he fell short of securing a two-thirds majority in Japan's upper house election on Sunday, which he needed to be able to revise the country's pacifist Constitution.

Abe has long been intent on changing the country's postwar pacifist Constitution. Having already revised policies to allow Japan Self-Defense Forces to engage in collective self-defense, he is now seeking to amend war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution so Japan can have a full-fledged military.

Although his ruling coalition retained its majority in the upper house in Sunday's vote for around half the seats in the chamber, it fell short of securing a two-thirds majority in favor of revising the Constitution. He now needs to reach out to opposition parties to gain support, which seems to be mission impossible.