For Japan PM Abe, pension issue dogs July election

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees this month's House of Councillors election as a chance to solidify his grip on power and move closer to achieving his long-held goal of amending Japan's pacifist Constitution.But as opposition parties look to draw attention to perceived flaws in the public pension programs, he may be reliving memories of a painful 2007 defeat that led to the end of his first stint in power.The July 21 election for half of the 245 seats in the upper house comes after a government panel recently raised concern over the sustainability of the pension system in a controversial repo…READ FULL ARTICLE