While the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was nothing less than shocking, the outcome of this past Sunday’s Upper House election was anything but.
As expected, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito ruling coalition coasted to an easy victory, securing a stable majority and dealing yet another blow to already weakened opposition parties.
With this win, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has now led the LDP through two successful national-level elections. Thus, Kishida can now operate under the premise that he has a well-established mandate and the support of the Japanese public — something that will silence some of his intraparty opponents and allow him to pursue his personal policy objectives.