Tokyo: After the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan's ruling party and its coalition partner won a significant victory in a parliamentary vote on Sunday that was infused with significance due to the potential impact of Abe's death on party cohesion. In the elections for half of the seats in the less powerful upper house, the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito increased their combined share in the 248-seat chamber to 146, far exceeding the majority. With the increase, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will be able to continue in office until the planned election in 2025. Kishida could then focus on long-term initiatives like national security, his eponymous but still nebulous "new capitalism" economic policy, and his party's ardent desire to amend the postwar pacifist constitution.
Now there is a chance for a charter change proposal. The governing bloc now has the two-thirds majority in the chamber necessary to propose an amendment, making it a likely possibility. This was made possible with the assistance of two opposition parties who are in favour of a charter change. The opposition chamber has already pledged support to the ruling coalition.
Unity in the party is more crucial than anything else statement gave by the Kishida Fumio.
Given the loss of Abe and the challenging task of unifying his party without him, Fumio Kishida welcomed the significant victory but wasn't grinning. Kishida reiterated: "Party unity is more important than anything else" in interviews with the media. He declared that his top priorities would be the COVID-19 responses, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and price increases. He declared that in addition to a constitutional amendment, he will continue to advocate for strengthening Japan's national security.
At the party election headquarters, Kishida and senior party lawmakers observed a moment of silence for Abe before attaching victory ribbons next to the names of candidates who won their seats on the whiteboard.
Abe, 67, was shot on Friday while making a political speech in Nara, a city in western Japan, and died from severe blood loss. With two terms in office, he was Japan's longest-serving political figure. Even after leaving office in 2020, he continued to hold a significant amount of power within the LDP as head of Seiwakai, the party's largest faction. Votes cast in sympathy after Abe's death might have happened. Sunday's turnout was 52 percent, up about 3 points from the previous year's 48.8 percent.
We carrying out the election was extremely significant, Kishida said on Sunday. "We continue to work to safeguard democracy."
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