The Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) to which Shinzo Abe belonged, the former prime minister of Japan who was assassinated last Friday, confirmed the predictions this Sunday together with his minor partner in the coalition, Komeito, and He has largely won in the elections for the upper house of parliament of that Asian country.

Victory means a vote of confidence for the current prime minister, I smoke kishida, between rising inflation and the tense geopolitical situation. With this legislative strengtheningwill be able to govern without interruption until the elections scheduled for 2025.

The PLD won 63 seats, more than half of the 125 up for grabs in the elections. In this way he brought his seats in Parliament to 146, out of a total of 248, then hold a strong majority. They were the best election results of the ruling force since 2013.

This will allow Kishida to work on long-term policies such as national security, his still vague economic policy of the “new capitalism” and his party’s long-standing goal of changing the country’s pacifist constitution drafted by the United States in the postwar period. .

An initiative for a change of the Constitution is now a possibility. With the help of two opposition parties supporting change, the ruling bloc now has the necessary proportion of will to propose an amendment, and the possibility is real.

Kishida and senior party members he held a minute’s silence in Abe’s honor at the party’s constituency before placing paper roses on a white board next to the names of candidates who have won seats.

Abe, 67, was shot dead Friday while giving an election speech in the western city of Nara. He died of severe bleeding from the gunshots.

He was the longest-serving political leader in Japan, for two terms, and although he resigned in 2020, he had a major influence in the LDP when he led his largest faction, the Seiwakai.

Kishida welcomed the important victory, but without smiling due to Abe’s tragic loss and the difficult task of unifying the party without him.

In press interviews on Sunday evening, Kishida reiterated: “The unity of the party is more important than anything else”.

He further noted that responses to COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and handling the price hike will be his priorities and that he will insist on strengthening Japan’s national security, as well as constitutional change.

Confirmed the comfortable victory, on Monday he met with the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, who expressed his condolences on the death of the influential Abe and reaffirmed the firm alliance between the two countries.

Kishida has warned that he will take over Shinzo Abe’s unfinished homework

In his first appearance after the electoral victory, Kishida assured that he will take over the two main unfinished tasks of the late Shinzo Abe: the constitutional amendment and the resolution of the kidnappings of Japanese at the hands of North Korea.

The environment in Japan and around the world “is changing rapidly and there are a lot of problems. … I think Abe himself regretted it the most,” said Kishida from LDP headquarters.

“The problems he could not solve, I will make them mine”affirmed the current Japanese sovereign, among which he highlighted the question of kidnappings and the reform of the Constitution, long sought by Abe and which could be facilitated after the electoral result.

Kishida was pleased with the results: “Our goal was to secure the majority and we got over it“They did so by obtaining a wider margin than in the previous elections three years earlier, which he interprets as a sign that the Japanese” see that we are entering a turning point “and” entrust them with the future of the country. “

Among the pending tasks that have been entrusted to channel, Kishida mentioned growing inflation, which is affecting mainly food and energy, and also referred to the new defense policy strategy that the Government will have to prepare by the end of the year and with which it seeks to increase its military capabilities.

“We will not eliminate any options, but we will evaluate them realistically,” Kishida said, at a time when defense policies have become particularly important due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Another big pending project is the reform of the Japanese Manga Letter. The review “has been on the agenda of the LDP since its inception,” said Kishida, who said he hoped “accelerate the start of the process to propose the constitutional amendment” and obtain sufficient public support for its passage in the course of parliamentary deliberations.

After the last elections, the parties in favor of the revision of the Constitution add 177 seats in the upper house, more than two thirds (166) necessary to propose it.

With information from EFE, AP and EFE.

IS