日本首相安倍晋三在参院选举中大获全胜

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.

日本首相安倍晋三在日前举行的参议院选举中大获全胜，使其有望控制国会的绝对多数席位，从而使得政府能够修改日本的和平宪法。

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.

此次参议院242个席位中有121个席位改选，安倍所在的自民党与其规模较小的执政伙伴公明党共赢得70个席位。

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.

修改宪法的决定若要获得通过，必须首先获得参议院和众议院2/3席位的支持，然后需要在全民公投中获得超过一半选民的赞同。

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

执政联盟目前已控制众议院2/3的席位，这意味着安倍在国会内已拥有启动修宪程序的足够票数。

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

这让安倍获得了对日本政治的无可争议的控制权，并让他获得了将修宪提交全民公投的千载难逢的良机。

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，获胜让他如释重负。"我们必须加快推进安倍经济学，以满足公众的期望，"他说。日本首相承诺在修宪问题上"深化辩论"。

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.

自民党赢得了121个改选席位中的66个席位，其执政联盟伙伴公明党则赢得了另外6个席位。反对党民进党赢得31个席位。

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.

据《朝日新闻》预测，投票率为54.7%，比上次上院选举高了两个百分点，但仍是自二战以来第四低的。这是日本把投票年龄降低到18岁之后举行的第一场选举。

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.

安倍在竞选期间几乎完全专注于经济，虽然反对党在很多选区团结支持单一候选人，但难以提出积极的替代愿景。

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.

投票当日，东京烈日高照、天气闷热。50多岁的Hajime Kani表示，他是从国家安全的角度考虑做出选择的，他投了安倍和自民党的票。

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.

东京市民、76岁的化学教授、自民党长期支持者Toru Takigishi表示，他首次把票投给共产党。

"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.

"我对现行的宪法很满意，我想保持和平。至少共产党对修宪形成了一个制衡机制，"Takigishi说。

"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."

"对我来说，最大问题是宪法改革，"和妻子一起带着三个年幼的孩子来投票的Eiji Tsurukawa表示。"我赞成改变。"