Japan’s current and former prime ministers’ Liberal Democratic Party, alongside its coalition partner Komeito, have won enough seats to comfortably secure the two-thirds majority needed to push forward long-debated constitutional changes.
The ruling coalition claimed 75 of the 125 House of Councillors seats up for grabs on Sunday, according to local media. It is unclear if the shocking assasination of Shinzo Abe, during a campaign event on Friday, had any result on the outcome of the election, but the turnout remained relatively low at only 52 percent.
“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,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said following the vote, according to Kyodo, after previously declaring “we must never allow violence to suppress speech.”
Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, Kenta Izumi, conceded defeat saying it was clear “voters did not want to switch from the LDP and entrust us with running the government.”