Japan ruling party wins big in upper house election after ex-PM Abe's death
TOKYO. KAZINFORM Japan's ruling party scored a sweeping victory in Sunday's House of Councillors election, helping pro-constitutional amendment forces retain the two-thirds majority needed to push for revising the supreme law, an unaccomplished goal of former leader Shinzo Abe whose assassination days earlier shocked the nation, Kyodo reports.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party grabbed at least 63 seats, or more than half of the 125 seats up for grabs, buoyed by strong voter support in a show of public confidence in his nine-month-old administration despite the country struggling with rising prices and security threats posed by Russia's war in Ukraine.
In all, the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito secured a total of more than 75 seats, comfortably retaining a majority in the 248-member upper chamber of parliament.
The pro-constitutional amendment camp, comprising the LDP-Komeito coalition, two opposition parties and independents, won more than 170 seats in the upper chamber, crossing the 166 thresholds needed to aim for a first-ever revision of the 1947 Constitution.
The LDP had the best outcome since 2013. In the shadow of the strong showing by the ruling coalition, the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which held 23 seats, saw its seats dwindle below 20.
The opposition Japan Innovation Party, which advocates constitutional reform, gained more than 10 seats, up from six before the election.
At the LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Kishida and senior party executives offered silent prayers for Abe, Japan's longest-serving premier who died Friday after being shot by a man when giving a speech in Nara, western Japan.
«The election, which is the foundation of democracy, was challenged by violence and it carries a big meaning that the election was carried through. I will continue to work hard to protect democracy,» Kishida said, in reference to the shooting of Abe.
Kishida also vowed to push ahead with plans for amending the Constitution, saying, «We will deepen parliamentary debate over the Constitution further so a concrete amendment proposal can be compiled.»
Photo: english.kyodonews.net