Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated on Friday, strongly pushed for changes that would improve Japan’s defense capabilities. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who received a strong mandate, said after the election that he would take the matter forward.
Japan’s ruling coalition has retained its majority in the upper house of parliament.
Prime minister Fumio Kishida represented by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), its coalition partner Komeito and their allies had on Monday defeated the New York Times by (you switch to another service) 87 seats out of 125 seats in the upper house of the parliament were now voted for.
Japan’s bicameral upper house has 248 seats. Elections are held every three years, and representatives are elected for about half of the seats.
The LDP now has 146 seats in the upper house.
The parties already had a qualified majority in the lower house.
The ninth article has been on LDP’s mind for a long time
The ruling coalition and the minor parties allied with it have enough votes to change Japan’s constitution. The Constitution has not been amended since it came into effect during the US occupation regime after World War II.
The LDP has been pushing for years to “clarify” the ninth article of the constitution. The article prohibits, among other things, the use of military force and the threat of it to solve international problems.
Prime Minister Kishida said on Monday after the election victory that he wanted to push the change forward so that some kind of proposal would be created as soon as possible, says Kyodo News (you will switch to another service).
In addition, Article 9 prohibits Japan from maintaining military forces and other warfare capabilities. However, the country retained the right to defend itself against a direct attack, and the self-defense forces are among the strongest armed forces in the world.
In particular, it was the country’s longest-serving prime minister who was murdered on Friday Shinzo Abe a cherished goal, which he however failed to realize. Abe’s death was estimated to have also brought sympathy votes to the LDP.
– I have an obligation to take on the ideas of former Prime Minister Abe, Prime Minister Kishida stated while campaigning.
About half of the respondents to the Kyodo news agency’s survey would like to change the article targeted by the LDP. According to Kyodo, Japanese politicians are especially worried about the aggressive actions of neighboring China towards Taiwan.
The election result also means that Kishida will remain prime minister at least until the 2025 election. He can therefore also continue his economic policy reform line, which is still characterized as unclear.