Violent Challenge To Japan’s Democracy Failed —Ambitions of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Live On

“Current Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, the leader of the LDP, now has a super-majority in the upper house, controlling more than two-thirds of the seats. Fumio will have this majority for at least three years and will be able to structure amendments to the Japanese constitution, a life-long ambition of Shinzo Abe who was a hawk to the influence of Chinese aggression in the region. “With the people supporting him, Kishida Fumio now has a major mandate to fulfill the legacy of Abe and keep a focus in the economic and security needs of the average Japanese citizen. This is a rare moment of almost universal control within the Japanese political system. Western media are writing the typeset with furrowed brows and gritted teeth. Meanwhile, the Beijing dragon is fuming behind the panda mask.”

According to the Washington Post: “The overwhelming victory could usher in at least three years of political stability for Kishida. It would clear the way for him to enact some of the party’s most controversial goals, including increasing defense spending and pursuing Abe’s long-running desire to amend Japan’s pacifist postwar constitution so that Japan can become a stronger global military power. “When they get ahold of these ‘golden three years’ the focus will be on what the Kishida administration will hammer out,” said Yu Uchiyama, Japanese politics professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. “If the Kishida administration can come up with policies that appeal to the people, there is a strong possibility that the administration will last long-term.” “A two-thirds supermajority is required for a constitutional revision, which the LDP said it would make a priority.

“Kei Sato, the Liberal Democratic Party politician from Nara for whom Abe was stumping on Friday when he was shot and killed, won reelection. He said he will pay respects to Abe at a wake on Monday and deliver the news of his victory. (Washington Post) “The man accused of assassinating Abe on Friday, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami of Nara, told investigators he believed that Abe was linked to a religious group he blamed for his mother’s financial woes. Japanese media, citing police sources, subsequently reported that Yamagami told investigators that it was a religious group to which his mother donated money.

"Akie Abe, 60, was photographed with what seemed to be tears in her eyes as she sat in the front seat of the hearse carrying her husband's body early Monday. “Akie, who was married to Abe for 35 years, accompanied the coffin to Tokyo's Zojoji temple where a 'tsuya' ceremony will be held before a private funeral tomorrow. “Abe, 67 and Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead Friday last week by a gunman who targeted him over alleged associations with South Korea's Unification Church - known as the Moonies.

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“Abe, a colossal political figure in Japan and perhaps the country's most-important post-war leader, was giving a campaign speech when he was shot dead last week. "The former PM - who stepped down in 2020 due to health issues - was in the city of Nara to back his party's local candidate when he was killed. “Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, fired two shots from a home-made shotgun to kill Abe, the second of which struck him in the neck and chest causing fatal blood loss. “Yamagami was arrested at the scene and has since told police he targeted Abe because he believed the politician is linked to the Unification Church. "He said his mother is also part of the church - known to some as a cult - and had bankrupted the family making donations to its leaders. "Yamagami has confessed to the shooting, and is being held in custody while police gather evidence about the attack.

“Meanwhile Japan's election went ahead as scheduled on Sunday despite fears of copy-cat attacks, with Abe's party handed a parliamentary super-majority. "It means that sweeping reforms of the country's constitution - a long-time goal of Abe's that he was unable to realise before stepping down - are now a possibility. "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stands to rule without interruption until a scheduled election in 2025. "That would allow Kishida to work on long-term policies such as national security, his signature but still vague 'new capitalism' economic policy, and his party's long-cherished goal to amend the U.S.-drafted postwar pacifist constitution. "A charter change proposal is now a possibility. With the help of two opposition parties supportive of a charter change, the governing bloc now has two-thirds majority in the chamber needed to propose an amendment, making it a realistic possibility. The governing bloc already has secured support in the other chamber.

"Kishida welcomed the major win but wasn't smiling, given the loss of Abe and the hard task of unifying his party without him. In media interviews late Sunday, Kishida repeated: 'Party unity is more important than anything else.' "He said responses to COVID-19, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising prices will be his priorities. He said he will also steadily push for reinforcing Japan's national security as well a constitutional amendment. "Kishida and senior party lawmakers observed a moment of silence for Abe at the party election headquarters before placing on the whiteboard victory ribbons next to the names of candidates who secured their seats. "The main opposition force, the Constitutional Democratic Party, lost seats in the Upper House under its new leader, Izumi Kenta. He said, "With our party's approval ratings still low, we need to work on ourselves, and restore support.” "Kishida called the act a violent challenge to Japan's democracy."

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