Tokyo, 10 July, /AJMEDIA/
Candidates made their last-ditch appeals Saturday across Japan for the House of Councillors election, as the country reels over the death of Shinzo Abe, a former prime minister who was gunned down during a campaign speech a day earlier.
Under tighter security, major political leaders across party lines spoke of their resolve not to succumb to any act of violence intended to suppress freedom of speech, rallying support from voters who go to the polls on Sunday.
Abe, the longest-serving Japanese prime minister, was fatally shot during his stump speech in Nara, western Japan. The shooting sent shockwaves through the Liberal Democratic Party, to which he belonged, political circles, business leaders and ordinary citizens Friday, as 18 days of campaigning neared its end.
Police officers are on guard in an area where stump speeches are scheduled in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture on July 9, 2022, for the House of Councillors election on July 10. (Kyodo)
The triennial election is an opportunity for voters to deliver their verdict on the performance of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has vowed to take steps to mitigate the blow from rising prices and bolster the country’s defense amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We will never give in to violence. I will stand before you until the very end (of this campaign),” Kishida said in Yamanashi Prefecture near Tokyo.
Kishida, who serves as the LDP’s head, stood on top of a campaign car as he delivered his speech to supporters about five meters away. He ditched customary fist bumps with voters and only waved his hands.
The premier has strongly condemned the shooting as a “barbaric act” that challenged “the foundation of democracy but said Sunday’s election should go as planned to ensure freedom and fairness.
In the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima, Kenta Izumi, who leads the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, also talked to voters while accompanied by more police officers than before Abe’s death.
“This should never have taken place. We should not yield to terrorism,” Izumi said.
A total of 125 seats are up for grabs in the election — nearly half of the 248-member upper chamber and one to fill a vacancy in the other uncontested half. The chamber had 245 seats, and three were newly added as part of electoral system reform.
Abe was a member of the more powerful House of Representatives.
Kishida has set a goal for the coalition of the LDP and its junior partner Komeito to retain a majority in the whole of the upper chamber, including those uncontested.
Threats to democracy and the rule of law are apparently in voters’ minds after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kishida’s government has condemned the war as a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force that shakes the foundation of the international order.