日本首相安倍晉三在參院選舉中大獲全勝

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a sweeping victory in the elections to Japan's upper house, leaving him within reach of a parliamentary supermajority that would allow the government to revise Japan's pacifist constitution.

日本首相安倍晉三在日前舉行的參議院選舉中大獲全勝，使其有望控制國會的絕對多數席位，從而使得政府能夠修改日本的和平憲法。

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, Komeito, won 70 of 121 seats that were up for grabs in the 242-seat upper house.

此次參議院242個席位中有121個席位改選，安倍所在的自民黨與其規模較小的執政夥伴公明黨共贏得70個席位。

Revision requires 2/3 of both houses of Parliament, after which the changes must be approved by a majority of voters in a national referendum.

修改憲法的決定若要獲得通過，必須首先獲得參議院和衆議院2/3席位的支持，然後需要在全民公投中獲得超過一半選民的贊同。

The coalition already controls 2/3 of the lower house, meaning Abe has the votes to start the revision process.

執政聯盟目前已控制衆議院2/3的席位，這意味着安倍在國會內已擁有啓動修憲程序的足夠票數。

That leaves Mr Abe in undisputed control of Japanese politics and gives him a chance at putting constitutional change to a national referendum.

這讓安倍獲得了對日本政治的無可爭議的控制權，並讓他獲得了將修憲提交全民公投的千載難逢的良機。

Mr Abe said he was relieved to win. "We have to accelerate Abenomics to meet the public's expectations," he said. The prime minister promised to "deepen debate" on a constitutional revision.

安倍表示，獲勝讓他如釋重負。"我們必須加快推進安倍經濟學，以滿足公衆的期望，"他說。日本首相承諾在修憲問題上"深化辯論"。

The LDP and its Komeito coalition partner has secured 66 of the 121 seats up for election, with a regional party that supports constitutional revision winning another six. The opposition Democratic party won 31 seats.

自民黨贏得了121個改選席位中的66個席位，其執政聯盟夥伴公明黨則贏得了另外6個席位。反對黨民進黨贏得31個席位。

Turnout was 53.5 per cent, the Asahi newspaper projected, up slightly on elections in 2013 but still the fourth lowest since World War Two. It wasJapan's first election since lowering the voting age to 18.

據《朝日新聞》預測，投票率爲54.7%，比上次上院選舉高了兩個百分點，但仍是自二戰以來第四低的。這是日本把投票年齡降低到18歲之後舉行的第一場選舉。

Mr Abe has fought the campaign almost solely on the economy, and although the opposition united around single candidates in many districts, it struggled to put forward a positive alternative vision.

安倍在競選期間幾乎完全專注於經濟，雖然反對黨在很多選區團結支持單一候選人，但難以提出積極的替代願景。

Voting in Tokyo on a sunny, humid day, Hajime Kani, in his fifties, said his choice was driven by national security and he had cast his vote for Mr Abe and the LDP.

投票當日，東京烈日高照、天氣悶熱。50多歲的Hajime Kani表示，他是從國家安全的角度考慮做出選擇的，他投了安倍和自民黨的票。

Toru Takigishi, a 76-year-old chemistry professor in Tokyo and a long-time LDP supporter, said he voted for the Communist party for the first time.

東京市民、76歲的化學教授、自民黨長期支持者Toru Takigishi表示，他首次把票投給共產黨。

"I'm happy with the current constitution and I want peace to be maintained. At least there is a checking mechanism for constitutional change under the Communist party," Mr Takigishi said.

"我對現行的憲法很滿意，我想保持和平。至少共產黨對修憲形成了一個制衡機制，"Takigishi說。

"The big issue for me is constitutional reform," said Eiji Tsurukawa, who was voting with his wife and three young children. "I favour a change."

"對我來說，最大問題是憲法改革，"和妻子一起帶着三個年幼的孩子來投票的Eiji Tsurukawa表示。"我贊成改變。"