Japan Ruling LDP, New Komeito secure majority in Diet

Japan's ruling coalition parties, the Liberal Democratic and New Komeito, secure a majority in the Upper House. That will give them control of both the Upper and Lower houses and put an end to the divided Diet.

The Upper   House election underway.Voters  are in large number for  half of the seats in the Upper House of Japan's parliament on Sunday.

As per the official media reports more than 48,000 polling stations across Japan opened at 7 AM.

The internal affairs ministry says voter turnout as of 11 AM was 13.73 percent, down 2.86 percentage points from the comparable figure in the previous election 3 years ago.

The election is the first national vote after power shifted to the coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party last December.Voters will judge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's handling of the government over the past 7 months, including his economic policies.The key focus is on whether the coalition of the LDP and New Komeito can secure a majority in the chamber, which would give it control of both chambers of the Diet.

There are 433 candidates  running for 121 seats, half of those in the chamber.

The seats are filled by winners in 47 electoral districts and those chosen under the proportional representation system.