Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may not revert to his nationalist agenda immediately as his ruling coalition’s electoral triumph on Sunday reaffirmed his economic drive as a top policy priority, analysts said Monday.

But Abe is expected to continue his push for the agenda, such as a full-fledged military, historical revisionism and constitutional amendments during his stint expected to continue for three years until the next parliamentary elections in 2016.

Concerns had persisted that buoyed by the victory in the upper-house elections, the security hawk, who returned to the post in December, might get back on his hobby horse and further worsen already frayed ties with Seoul and Beijing.

“For the next three years, there will be no elections, and Abe, thus, might touch (all conservative agenda items). But for the time being, he may need to focus on his economic program to continue the positive outcome,” said Park Young-june, Japan politics professor of Korea National Defense University.

“In the upper house, his ruling coalition does not have an outright majority that would allow it to unilaterally push for a constitutional revision. Thus, it faces some limits and needs cooperation and coordination with other parties.”

In Sunday’s elections, where half of the 242 seats in the upper house of the country’s legislature were up for grabs, Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition party, New Komeito, won 76 seats. With the existing 59 seats, the ruling bloc secured a total of 135 seats, shy of a two-thirds majority required for constitutional revision.

Although his “Abenomics” policy of monetary stimuli has yielded some signs of economic revitalization after two decades of economic malaise, experts note that Abe should do more to sustain long-term growth.

Abe also needs to watch public sentiment about his plan for a sales tax increase, which his government argues is crucial to address the bulging national debt, but critics say could hurt the economy.

Abe’s nationalist moves have so far escalated diplomatic friction with South Korea and China ― two major victims of Japan’s past militarism.

Abe and other conservative politicians have recently made remarks downplaying Japan’s wartime atrocities including the wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women, which Seoul views as a universal human rights issue.

Abe’s pursuit of securing a collective-self defense right (the use of force to respond to an attack on an ally, namely the U.S.) and revising the war-renouncing Article 9 of the constitution is also drawing criticism from the neighboring states.

But Abe’s long-cherished goal of constitutional revision is still a tough task even though the ruling coalition gained control of both chambers of the Diet.

The ruling bloc does not have a two-thirds majority in the upper house, and Abe’s coalition partner, New Komeito, with its platform of pacifism, is against Japan’s possession of armed services and amendment to the war-renouncing constitution.

“Abe may really want to revise the constitution, but gaining consent from the two-thirds majority in the parliament is not easy,” said Lee Jung-hwan, assistant professor at the School of International and Area Studies of Kookmin University.

“I doubt whether the New Komeito would agree to or be actively positive toward the revision at the risk of undermining its party’s identity. Given this, it would not be easy to rapidly push for the revision.”

Although Abe may refrain from his aggressive nationalist push while focusing on the economy, he and his conservative fellows are expected to continue the rightward political shift.

Their visit to the Yasukuni Shrine that honors Japanese war criminals could bring the historical animosity between Seoul and Tokyo to the fore again. They could visit the controversial place on Aug. 15, a day to mark Japan’s defeat in the Pacific War or during the October autumn worship period.

But experts pointed out Seoul needs to continue to hold talks with Tokyo for practical cooperation on areas of mutual interest, such as security.

“Including the summit meeting, Seoul needs to continue dialogue with Tokyo so that it can help keep Japan from going in the wrong direction,” said Park of Korea National Defense University.

By Song Sanag-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)