With flags at half-mast, Japan recorded on Monday (11) electoral victory for the ruling party supported by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who died last week. The result gives the current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, a chance to consolidate his power.
In elections held yesterday (10), the Liberal Democrat Party (PLD) and its coalition partner in government increased a majority in the upper house of Parliament. With a majority already in place in the lower house, what would have been a celebratory mood at party headquarters under normal circumstances turned into a somber victory.
A moment of silence for Abe was held in his memory and Kishida’s face remained closed as he affixed commemorative ribbons next to the names of the winning candidates in a frame as a symbol of victory.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Kishida during a brief stopover to offer condolences on behalf of US President Joe Biden.
“I shared with our Japanese colleagues the sense of loss, of shock, that we all feel – connected people feel – in this horrible tragedy,” said Blinken.
“But mainly, I came at the behest of the president because, more than allies, we are friends. And when a friend is suffering, other friends appear.”
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