Japan's Abe says upper house election win shows support for constitution debate

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his ruling coalition's solid win in an upper house election on Sunday showed that voters supported debate over his proposal to revise the post-war, pacifist constitution.

Abe, speaking to a TV broadcaster after exit polls showed his coalition would win a solid majority, also said a scheduled rise in the sales tax to 10% from 8% in October was necessary for the social security system and to gain international trust.