TOKYO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The administration under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will face a major political test when the House of Councilors election opens on Sunday, as the ruling and opposition camps are rivaling for majority in the upper house.

    On Sunday, 121 of the 242 six-year seats in the upper chamber are up for grabs: 73 in prefectural constituencies and 48 proportional representation seats.

    Several recent media surveys showed that the ruling coalition is fighting an uphill battle to maintain its majority in the upper house. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), headed by Abe and its coalition partner the New Komeito party needs to secure 64 seats to keep its majority.

    Meanwhile, the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) seemed to have gathered considerable momentum to change the landscape. According to a survey conducted by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper on Tuesday and Wednesday, the LDP will likely fall short of 44 seats. Meanwhile, the DPJ could win as many as 60.

    However, LDP is ahead in overall support rates of the political parties in several surveys. The unaffiliated voters, who may not decide whether to vote or how to cast the ballots, are thought as an important factor towards the final result.

    Before the election on Sunday from 7:00 a.m. (2200 GMT, Saturday) to 8:00 p.m. (1100 GMT), some 4 million absentee ballot shave been received as of last Sunday. The number of eligible voters in Japan stands at around 104 million.

    Japan's upper house president Ogi retires

Chikage Ogi(File Photo)
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    TOKYO, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Japan's upper house president Chikage Ogi Friday retired from her post and 30-year career as a lawmaker.

    Ogi left the parliament building after attending a ceremony. The 74-year-old woman had served as president of the House of Councilors since 2004 and was Japan's first female head of the upper house.

    Analysis: Upper house election grave test for Japanese PM

    TOKYO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- With dropping support rate and public distrust incurred by the pension record-keeping errors, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sits a grave test on the July 29 upper house election, the first major election since he took post last September.

    A series of troubles have arisen in the first year of Abe's administration. In December, Genichiro Sata resigned his post of administrative reform minister over a scandal that his defunct political support group falsified political fund reports.