Tokyo – AFP
The Japanese voted in favor of the ruling coalition, Sunday, in the upper house elections, according to partial results, in an election that was overshadowed by the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, two days ago, during an election rally in Nara, in the west of the country.
The ruling coalition, consisting of the Liberal Democratic Party, to which Abe belongs, and his ally, Komeito, are expected to win, according to forecasts by the public broadcaster NHK, by regarding 83 seats out of 125 that were voted to renew Sunday, in the elections to be held every three years. The Senate has 248 seats in total.
At 18:00, two hours before the polls closed, the turnout was 27.38 percent, slightly higher than the previous Senate elections. The current Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, condemned the “barbaric” attack on Abe, stressing the importance of “defending free and fair elections that form the basis of democracy.” “We will never give in to violence,” he said.
The assassination of Abe, one of the archipelago’s most famous politicians who ruled the country for more than eight years, shocked Japan and abroad, and messages of condolences came from around the world, including from China and South Korea, whose relations with Japan are often tense.
religious group
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is currently visiting Asia, plans to stop in Tokyo to offer condolences.
Abe’s office announced that a memorial service will be held on Monday, and the funeral will be held on Tuesday, in the presence of his family and relatives only, at Zogoji Temple in Tokyo. The attacker admitted that he had deliberately targeted Abe, explaining to police that he was resentful of an organization he believed Abe was associated with. And the media reported that the matter was related to a religious group.
Media reported that the 41-year-old assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, is a former member of the Japanese Navy, and told security forces that he used a homemade weapon. The killer told investigators that he went Thursday to Okayama with the intention of assassinating Abe, who was participating in an event there, but that he abandoned the plan because he was forcing the participants to reveal their names.
After being suspended for a short period, following the assassination of Abe, the electoral campaign resumed, on Saturday, amid tight security, while the police in the Nara region acknowledged the existence of “undeniable” security gaps in Abe’s security.
“new capitalism”
Fears dominate the elections, led by high prices and risks related to electricity supply in light of a heat wave that has affected Japan since the end of June, raising concerns regarding power outages. “The global economy is in recession, and Japan is also facing an economic crisis on more than one level, while wages are not increasing,” said Shigeru Kato, 75, as he left a polling station in Tokyo. take any measures.
In a country that is often criticized for the weak representation of women in its institutions and in the leadership of its companies, the elections this year were marked by a record rate of female participation, amounting to 33% of the 545 candidates.
In the event that he achieves a big victory in the Senate elections, the current Prime Minister Kishida will be able to consolidate his power, following he called for an economic policy that includes a more equitable distribution of wealth, which he called “new capitalism”, at the gates of a three-year phase that does not include any electoral entitlement.
His close cooperation with the West with the aim of putting pressure on Russia gained wide support in his country, and his plan to “significantly” increase the defense budget achieved popular support, at a time when China asserts its geographical ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region.
