Japan's ruling coalition, led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's party, has won a sweeping supermajority in the country's parliamentary elections held this Sunday.
This victory will enable the fulfillment of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's enduring ambition to reform the country's pacifist constitution. The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partners won 87 seats in today's election, surpassing the 70 needed to form a supermajority.
The election was held two days after Abe's shock assassination in a campaign stop aimed at winning the upper house of parliament. Abe's assassination appears to have led to a surge in voter turnout, which reached over 52%, up from 49% in 2019. The supermajority would allow the coalition to amend Japan's constitution, which calls for abdication from the war, opening up the potential for Japan to become a military power.
Abe stepped down as prime minister in 2020 - to be succeeded by current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida - but remained an influential figure in the two leaders' joint Liberal Democratic Party.