EPA
–
NOS News•today, 14:10
—
Polling stations in Japan are closed for the elections to the upper house. As expected, it appears that the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito has secured the lion’s share of the vote.
–
According to the exit polls, the coalition will win between 69 and 83 of a total of 125 seats. The final result is expected tomorrow.
–
The elections were overshadowed by the murder of the former prime minister and prominent member of the LDP Shinzo Abe. He was shot on Friday while campaigning for the election. He died a few hours later in hospital. A day later, the campaign resumed.
–
Political analysts already expected that the LDP would win many votes out of sympathy for the former prime minister. Even before the assassination, analysts had already assumed that the coalition would win between 59 and 69 seats. The coalition is now led by current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He is seen as a protégé of Abe.
–
More money for defense
The fact that it is now very likely to exceed 69 is historic. The coalition has never won so many seats before. If that happens, the coalition will have an absolute majority in the Senate. She won 55 seats in the previous elections for the Japanese Senate.
–
When the majority is achieved, it will be easier for Kishida to implement his plans to spend more money on defense. It may give the former Hiroshima banker a chance to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution, something Abe never managed to do. Opinion polls show that the majority of voters are in favor of more military strength.
–
The elections to the Japanese senate are usually seen as a referendum on the incumbent government.
–
—
