Japan's PM faces tough test in upper house election

JAPAN's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces a tough test in an upper house election later this month as his minority government struggles after its major defeat in last year's snap election.

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Ishiba has survived so far, though he had to make some concessions to the opposition — an unusual step for the Liberal Democratic Party that has dominated Japan's postwar politics. Official campaigning begins Thursday for the July 20 vote for the upper house, the less powerful of Japan's two parliamentary chambers. Ishiba has modest goals for the election and the oppo