Japan’s Ruling Coalition Makes Strong Election Showing After Abe Assassination

Fumio Kishida (2nd L), Japan's prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), speaks after placing a red paper rose on an LDP candidate's name, to indicate a victory in the upper house election, at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, on July 10, 2022. Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP

TOKYO/NARA, Japan—Japan’s conservative coalition government increased its majority in the upper house of parliament in an election on Sunday, two days after the assassination of dominant politician and power broker Shinzo Abe.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving modern leader, was gunned down on Friday during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara in a killing that stunned a country where political violence and gun crime are rare.