From Nikkei Asia, February 7/8:
Moving legislation and passing budgets becomes easier as seats stack up
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has targeted 233 seats for the ruling coalition in Sunday's election as the dividing line between victory and defeat.
But the more seats picked up by the ruling bloc, made up of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party, the more stable the next government will be. Political observers will be watching closely to see whether the coalition can meet four benchmarks: 233 seats, 243 seats, 261 seats and 310 seats.
Before the election, the ruling coalition held 232 seats in the lower house -- the LDP's 198 and Japan Innovation's 34. A pickup of just one seat would give the bloc a majority, the minimum number required for the prime minister to remain in office at the special session of parliament convened after the election.
Enacting budgets would also become easier -- even if the upper house, where the ruling coalition does not hold a majority, rejects a budget, the spending package can still automatically go into effect. This would enable the government to fund and enact its flagship policies.
However, even if the ruling bloc wins a majority in the lower house in this election, its minority in the upper chamber will not change. That means new legislation will require some support from opposition parties....
....MUCH MORE
