Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party is on track to win sweeping victories across the country in the Sunday election following the assassination of former Prime Minister and Party President Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot on Friday.
Alongside its partner party Komeito, the LDP’s coalition won 87 of the 125 contested seats in the country’s less-powerful Upper House of Parliament. This will give the party control of 143 of the possible 248 seats – 70% of the legislators – in the Upper House, according to the New York Times and the Associated Press.
The outlet added that Abe’s death may have sparked an increase in voter turnout, as it rose from 49% to 52% since the 2019 election.
The win means a “fresh start” for current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, according to The Japan Times. Kishida has held the role since 2021 and served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and acting Minister of Defense under Abe’s government.
Kishida eulogized Abe in his election night remarks while celebrating that the assassination did not prevent his country’s election. In his remarks, Kishida noted that “I was determined to go through with this election at all costs.”
Fumio Kishida in 2018 (切干大根 / CC BY-SA 4.0)
“Violence threatened the electoral process, the very foundation of our democracy,” Kishida said, according to The Japan Times. At one of the final campaign rallies before the election on Saturday, Kishida said, “I have the responsibility to take over the ideas of former Prime Minister Abe.”
The outlet explained that the election “was essentially a report card for Kishida’s first nine months on the job, and voters appear to have given him a passing grade.“
While Japan mourns its former leader, 45th President Donald Trump told Breitbart News that he’s in contact with Abe’s family and is considering traveling to Japan for his friend’s funeral.
“We’re talking to their family. We love the family. His wife is a phenomenal woman,” Trump told the conservative outlet. “We’re going to see about that, we’re talking about that right now.”
He added, “He is so loved in Japan I can imagine that is going to be an incredible celebration of life.”
President Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Shinzō Abe, Mrs. Abe at Mar-a-Lago (Trump White House / Flickr)
Trump noted that Abe was the first foreign dignitary he received after being inaugurated president in 2021.
“You know he was the first person I saw? Do you remember he came early? He came right after the election—he was the first person I saw,” said Trump. “We had a special relationship.”
