Shinzo Abe’s goal of revising Japan’s constitution comes to a close after LDP election victory

Politicians on both sides said the election demonstrated the nation’s commitment to democracy after Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history. was shot during election campaign Nara City.

“We will not bow down to or be intimidated by this terrorism,” said Kei Sato, the candidate on whose behalf Mr. Abe was speaking. Mr. Sato won his race and turned away from the usual celebratory cheers.

The Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in 2012 under Mr Abe’s leadership and has won every national election since then.

Amendments to the constitution would require a two-thirds vote of both houses of parliament followed by a popular referendum. The US-written document adopted in 1947 stated that Japan would never maintain the same combat capability as land, sea and air forces. The country still has a de facto army, called the Self-Defense Force, which some scholars say is unconstitutional.

Mr Kishida, who has generally not prioritized the issue, said lawmakers should expedite discussions about an amendment that would make clear that Japan’s military force is legal. He also advocated the strengthening of government powers in case of an emergency like a major earthquake.

“I think these are urgent matters,” said Mr. Kishida. “I want to focus efforts on putting together a specific proposal” that parliament can submit to a national referendum, he said.

However, left-leaning opposition politicians said they would fight against an amendment that they said could complicate Japan in foreign wars. As Mr. Abe found during his long term in power from 2012 to 2020, The issue can be a divisive distraction When the country faces economic challenges.

Mr. Kishida’s LDP won nearly half the seats in the upper house of parliament, based on most complete results tabulated by the public broadcaster NHK. The coalition would retain a solid majority of the chamber, with seats held by a party called Komito, a coalition partner of the LDP.

LDP already holds a majority of the more powerful lower housewho was not up for election on Sunday as a result of his victory in an election last October.

Mr. Abe’s murder on Friday shook up a low-drama campaign. Authorities arrested a 41-year-old man, Tetsuya Yamagami, and said he was suspected of sneaking up behind Mr. Abe and firing a house gun at him. Police said Mr. Yamagami told investigators he had a problem with an organization he believed had links to the former prime minister and that was why he decided to kill Mr. Abe.

Police did not publicly name the organization or explain why the suspect linked it to Mr. Abe. Japanese news organizations, including the Asahi newspaper, said it was a religious group and said Mr Yamagami told officials he was upset because he believed his mother suffered financial difficulties while making a large donation to the group. had to face.

Mr. Yamagami’s custody was transferred from police to prosecutors on Sunday.

Foreign Minister Antony Blinken, who is on a trip to Asia, will visit Tokyo on Monday to mourn the death of Mr Abe, the State Department said.

Renho, a former opposition leader who won re-election on Sunday and a member of the current Upper House, said the ability of lawmakers from all sides to speak freely was the foundation for bettering the country.

“We cannot allow pressure or violence to deprive politicians of their words or their lives,” Renho, one of the names, said.

Prime Minister Kishida, who previously served as Mr Abe’s foreign minister, spent as much Saturday as any day before the election, traveling by train and plane to campaign in cramped districts.

After the vote, he said: “There was great importance in the fact that we were able to carry on with this election” despite Mr Abe’s shooting.

The vigorous retail campaign has been a central part of Japanese politics since it adopted universal suffrage and established parliamentary government in its US written constitution, which was adopted in 1947.

In the weeks before the election, candidates roamed their districts giving speeches at railway stations and shopping areas, usually with little or no security. Television advertising plays a lesser role than in the US due to regulations limiting the types of advertisements candidates can run.

write to Peter Landers peter.landers@wsj.com