Japan votes in Upper House election under shadow of ex-PM Abe’s death

Japan votes on Sunday (July 10) in an Upper House election that drew tepid interest until it took a shocking, emotional turn with the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe on the campaign trail.

While bread-and-butter issues such as inflation, an energy crisis and early signs of a seventh Covid-19 wave were initially on the election agenda, Mr Abe’s untimely death on Friday will likely galvanize more voters to cast their ballots.

Voter turnout was only 48.8 per cent in the last Upper House election, in 2019.

With a disjointed opposition, pundits have long expected Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to make gains in the election.

Abe, 67, was gunned down by Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, while delivering a stump speech in the western city of Nara. Yamagami had tapped his experience in the navy to fashion his own handmade gun, despite Japan’s strict gun laws.

He told investigators that the attack was not politically motivated, and that he targeted Mr Abe for his alleged links to a religious organization that bankrupted Yamagami’s mother and wrecked the family.

Yamagami will likely be referred to prosecutors on Sunday morning.

Nara prefecture police chief Tomoaki Onizuka said he felt a “grave sense of responsibility” over the incident, adding: “We cannot deny that there were problems with the security plan given how things unfolded.”

In their final election-campaign speeches on Saturday, politicians of all stripes condemned the attack as an act of barbarism and an affront to democracy.

Kishida said in his last campaign appearance in Niigata in the evening: “As Prime Minister, I feel the responsibility to uphold the legacy of former prime minister Abe and ensure the Upper House election can be held in a free, fair and safe manner to protect democracy.”

He was speaking in support of LDP candidate Kazuhiro Kobayashi, 49, who is trying to unseat three-term incumbent Yuko Mori, 66, of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, in what is seen as one of the tightest races.

Earlier on Saturday, a hearse carrying Abe’s body arrived at his home in the Tomigaya neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward, from the Nara Medical University Hospital. His wife Akie accompanied his body in the car ride, a journey of about six hours.

Kishida as well as numerous LDP lawmakers and business leaders paid their respects. Hisashi Hieda, chairman of Fujisankei Communications, reportedly said that Abe had “the same expression as he always had”.

Tributes continued to pour in, with United States President Joe Biden speaking to Kishida by phone. Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a condolence message that Abe had worked hard to contribute to bilateral relations.

LDP officials told domestic media Abe’s send-off is being planned for after the election, with an overnight vigil on Monday and the funeral, for family and close friends, on Tuesday.

There is still no word on whether any public memorial will be held.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES