Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc won a decisive election victory in parliament's upper house on Sunday.
Elections in Japan
![Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe exchanges smiles with Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party during ballot counting at the party headquarters in Tokyo, July 21, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/fa814b63-a76a-4ea3-a7ca-2386c2a4cf9b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe exchanges smiles with Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party during ballot counting at the party headquarters in Tokyo, July 21, 2013.
![Japan's main opposition Democratic Party of Japan leader Banri Kaieda looks unhappy during ballot counting in the upper house elections at his party headquarters in Tokyo, July 21, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/60dda4c3-8389-4c0e-9248-0345c3fe14b7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Japan's main opposition Democratic Party of Japan leader Banri Kaieda looks unhappy during ballot counting in the upper house elections at his party headquarters in Tokyo, July 21, 2013.
![Election staff members open ballot boxes for counting in the upper house elections at a ballot counting center in Tokyo, July 21, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/c8b83979-1c4a-4341-a893-fdca2ec3639c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Election staff members open ballot boxes for counting in the upper house elections at a ballot counting center in Tokyo, July 21, 2013.
![An elderly woman casts her vote in Japan's upper house parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tokyo, July 21, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/6657ac88-6f62-4869-b95f-2b8bc448e432_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An elderly woman casts her vote in Japan's upper house parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tokyo, July 21, 2013.