Pro-constitutional revision parties have retained a two-thirds majority in the Upper House, opening up the possibility that the issue could be taken to a public vote. But while those groups might be tempted to celebrate, a number of issues ¡ª ranging from voters¡¯ lack of interest to the death of the movement¡¯s figurehead ¡ª stand in the way of actually changing the supreme code.

Following Sunday¡¯s election, the pro-revisionist camp ¡ª the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito, as well as the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) ¡ª now holds 179 seats in the upper chamber. The figure tops the 166-seat threshold needed to initiate the process of introducing changes to the Constitution ¡ª such as an amendment to the war-renouncing Article 9 aimed at clarifying the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces.

But despite the election results, the pro-revisionist camp needs to overcome various hurdles if it wishes to make that goal a reality. Among them, it would require a considerable amount of time and political energy from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida¡¯s administration at a time when it is already facing serious challenges at home and abroad.