Shinzo Abe’s party vows to finish his work after big win in parliamentary vote

People offer flowers and prayers for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at Zojoji temple prior to his funeral wake Monday, July 11, 2022, in Tokyo. Abe was assassinated Friday while campaigning in Nara, western Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s party has vowed to use its sizable victory in a parliamentary election to achieve his unfinished goals, including strengthening the military and revising the country’s pacifist post-war constitution.

The governing Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito secured a majority in the parliament’s upper house in elections on Sunday that took on new meaning after Mr Abe was assassinated while campaigning on Friday in a crime that shook the nation.