Two days after Abe’s assassination: Japan elects new upper house

After the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe, his Liberal Democratic Party looks set to win the upper house election. This was already ahead in polls before the fatal shooting of Abe.

Overshadowed by the deadly attack on ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Japanese are voting for part of their upper house today. A good half of the 248 seats in the parliamentary chamber will be reassigned. According to polls, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to which Abe belonged, can count on an election victory. The LDP and its smaller partner Komeito were already ahead in polls before the attack.

The polling stations close at 1:00 p.m. German time, and the first forecasts are to be published immediately afterwards. No further national elections are planned in Japan for the next three years. A clear victory would strengthen Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s position of power at a time when Japan’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is being threatened by rising energy and food prices. In view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s drive for power, his party is also calling for a sharp increase in military spending.

Horror and sadness after the attack at home and abroad

Abe was campaigning in support of a party colleague in the western Japanese city of Nara on Friday when he was gunned down. A few hours later, Abe was pronounced dead at the hospital. The act of violence, committed by a 41-year-old Japanese man, caused horror at home and abroad. Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida nevertheless stuck to the date for the election to the upper house. “Under no circumstances can we condone the use of violence to suppress expression of opinion during an election,” Kishida said on Saturday. He has “a responsibility to complete this House of Lords election in a free, fair and safe manner.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently in Asia, has announced a condolence visit to Japan for Monday. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is also visiting the country, but the trip was planned before Abe’s death. Among the many heads of state and government who offered their condolences after the assassination were Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US President Joe Biden and former US President Obama.

In the United States, flags were flown at half-mast on government buildings. Countries with which Abe had clashed during his reign also reacted with shock. For example, China’s head of state Xi Jinping said he was “deeply saddened” by Abe’s violent death.

Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He represented nationalist positions and wanted to change Japan’s pacifist constitution. His economic policy, based on economic stimulus programs and deregulation, became known as “Abenomics”.

Assassin confesses

The gunman, who was overpowered and arrested immediately after Friday’s attack, said police said in his confession that he “held a grudge against a certain organization” and believed Abe had a connection with it. According to Japanese media, it is said to be the controversial Unification Church of the late Korean sect founder San Myung Mun. Also known as the Mun Sect, the Unification Church has members in many countries, including Japan, and supports conservative political causes. Politicians like former US President Donald Trump and Abe are considered friendly towards her. The assassin’s family had run into financial difficulties because of donations from his mother to the Unification Church.

For the assassination, the 41-year-old perpetrator had apparently used a self-made weapon. According to the media, the confessing man denied that he acted out of resentment over Abe’s political beliefs. Originally he wasn’t even aiming for the right-wing conservative politician, but for a leader of the religious group. According to the Kyodo news agency, he is said to have tried to build a bomb. In his apartment, the police found explosives and homemade firearms that resembled the murder weapon.