Japan’s governing party and its coalition partner scored a big victory in a parliamentary election which took place after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. The Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito raised their combined share in the 248-seat chamber to 146, far beyond the majority in the elections for half of the seats in the less powerful upper house. With the boost, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stands to rule without interruption until a scheduled election in 2025.
The result was in line with all major expectations. Media surveys had predicted a major victory for the governing Liberal Democratic Party amid fractured and weak opposition, and a wave of sympathy votes from Abe’s assassination was widely expected to bring a bigger victory than Kishida’s modest goal of winning the house majority.
Even after stepping down as prime minister in 2020, Abe was highly influential in the LDP and headed its largest faction. Japan’s current diplomatic and security stance is unlikely to change because fundamental changes had been already been made by Abe. His ultra-nationalist views and realistic policy measures made him a divisive figure to many, including in the Koreas and China.
Abe stepped down two years ago blaming a recurrence of the ulcerative colitis he’d had since he was a teenager. He said he regretted leave many of his goals unfinished, including the issue of Japanese abducted years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia, and a revision to Japan’s war-renouncing constitution that many conservatives consider a humiliation because of poor public support.
