Japan voters go to polls two days after Abe assassination
Two days after former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed in the street while giving a speech in support of a ruling party candidate, Japanese voters are going to the polls to choose the country’s upper house representative.
On Sunday polls will open at 7 am. and conclude at 8 pm. Later that evening, the final findings ought to be known.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reports that the turnout as of 4 p.m. was 23.01%. At the same time in the preceding 2019 upper house election, the figure was somewhat higher at 22.72%.
On Friday, Abe was assassinated in the western city of Nara. Politicians from both the opposition and the ruling coalition denounced the killing as a menace to democracy. Leader like as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida persisted in calling for a free and fair election on Saturday as they carried out their campaign travels, promising not to give in to terrorists.
Lawmakers in Japan’s upper house have six-year tenure. Every three years, elections are used to reelect half of the 248 representatives. This time, 125 seats—one to cover a vacancy—are up for election. Fifty-five of the seats are determined via a proportional representation method, with the remaining 75 members chosen from 45 districts.
