How Low Can He Go? The Election Math for Abe to Stay in Command
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In Japan’s election math, the key question for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is how many seats he can afford to lose without crippling his premiership.
When he dissolved parliament on Nov. 21, and called for elections in the lower house, his ruling coalition held 325 out of 480 seats in the chamber -- more than the two-thirds majority needed to override decisions by the less powerful upper house. The total number of seats has been trimmed to 475 for the Dec. 14 election.