According to voter survey: Japan’s government retains majority

Japan has elected new House of Lords amid shock over the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Abe. Abe’s governing party, the LDP, achieved an absolute majority without its coalition partner.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling party won the upper house elections in Japan. His Liberal Democratic Party LDP secured an absolute majority in the second chamber of parliament even without their coalition partner Komeito, as Japanese media reported on Monday after all votes were counted.

The ruling party won 63 of the 125 seats available – and thus received even more votes than had been expected before the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It is the best result for the LDP in years. The Komeito got 13 seats.

The coalition partners already have 70 of the mandates in the upper house that were not up for election this time. Half of the mandates are renewed every three years. The upper house will have 248 seats.

Election after deadly assassination

The election came in the wake of the assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Abe. The longtime head of government and influential politician belonged to the LDP, like his pupil Kishida. He had been shot down in the street two days earlier during an election campaign speech and later pronounced dead in the hospital.

The tragic death of Abe has now apparently meant that his party received even more votes than had been expected anyway. The advantage is so large that a constitutional change seems possible, which Abe had also advocated: the abolition of the so-called peace clause, which forbids Japan to take part in wars.

Kishida’s position of power strengthened

A victory would also pave the way for the government coalition to implement projects such as increasing the defense budget and restarting some nuclear power plants.

The election victory should strengthen Kishida’s position of power, who has only been in office for nine months, at a time when Japan’s economic recovery from the corona pandemic is threatened by rising energy and food prices. In view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s drive for power, his LDP party also wants a sharp increase in military spending.

With information from Silke Diettrich, ARD Studio New Delhi