The Liberal Democratic Party would win between 70 and 83 seats out of the 125 to be filled, according to projections by the public broadcaster NHK – the Senate has 248 seats, half of which are renewed every three years.
The Japanese unsurprisingly gave their confidence to the ruling coalition on Sunday in Senate elections, according to seat projections, a vote that was overshadowed by the assassination two days earlier of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a an election rally.
The Liberal Democratic Party (PLD, nationalist right) to which Shinzo Abe belonged, and his ally Komeito, would win between 70 and 83 seats out of the 125 to be filled, according to projections by the public channel NHK – the Senate has 248 seats, renewed half every three years.
“I think it is important that the elections were able to take place normally“Commented the current Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, adding that he was going to tackle the important current subjects, the Covid, Ukraine and inflation.
Two days earlier, the head of government had denounced the attack “barbaricagainst Shinzo Abe, his former mentor, insisting on the importance of “defend free and fair elections, which are the foundation of democracy“. “We will never give in to violence“, he added.
In Nara, in the west, the shooting assassination of Shinzo Abe, one of the country’s best-known politicians, deeply hurt and moved both in Japan and abroad, and messages of condolences poured in. from all over the world, including from China and South Korea, with which Japan has often rocky relations.
SEE ALSO – ‘I can’t believe it’: grief and disbelief in Tokyo after Shinzo Abe’s assassination
religious group
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, traveling in Asia, will stop in Tokyo on Monday to offer his condolences in person, according to the State Department.
Shinzo Abe’s office told AFP that a wake would be held on Monday evening, and the funeral on Tuesday, with family and loved ones present. They will take place at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo, according to local media.
The alleged perpetrator of the attack, arrested at the scene, confessed to having deliberately targeted Shinzo Abe, explaining to the police that he was angry at an organization to which he believed that he was affiliated. Some Japanese media mentioned a religious group.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, is believed to be a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (the Japanese Navy), and told law enforcement that he used a homemade weapon.
According to several media, he told investigators that he went to Okayama (west) on Thursday with the intention of assassinating Shinzo Abe who was taking part in an event there, but finally gave up because the participants had to communicate their name and address. .
After being briefly suspended by the various parties at the news of the attack, the electoral campaign had resumed on Saturday with increased security measures, while the police of Nara admitted loopholes “undeniablein those surrounding Mr. Abe’s rally.
“New Capitalism”
The campaign was dominated by price increases and risks concerning the supply of electricity, while the heat wave that has affected Japan since the end of June has raised fears of shortages in this area.
“The world economy is stagnating and Japan is also in economic crisis in many ways, with wages not increasing“, commented Shigeru Kato, 75, questioned by AFP at the exit of a polling station in Tokyo. If we do nothing,Japan will sink even more“, he added.
In a country often criticized for the lack of female representation in its institutions and the management of its companies, a record proportion of 33% of women appeared this Sunday among the 545 candidates.
The large senatorial victory that is looming would consolidate the power of Fumio Kishida, who has championed a more redistributive economic policy called “new capitalismbefore a three-year period without scheduled elections.
Read alsoAssassination of Shinzo Abe: what do we know about the man who shot the former Japanese prime minister?
His close cooperation with Japan’s Western allies in putting pressure on Russia has also been praised in the Archipelago, and his plan to increase “considerablyThe defense budget is also popular, as China continues to assert its territorial ambitions in the Asia-Pacific.
The upward trend in defense spending could strengthen further after the election, according to Yu Uchiyama, a professor of political science at the University of Tokyo, who believes that the “(Japan’s) tough stance towards China is likely to be maintained“.
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