The killing of the country’s former prime minister will likely lead the island nation closer to Abe’s dream of a newly militarized Japan:
The attack by a lone assassin, using what was clearly a hand-made weapon, was an attack on “the very foundation of democracy,” Kishida said. Abe was campaigning to increase turnout for his Liberal Democratic Party when he was killed. The election, only for Japan’s upper house, was scheduled for Sunday. Observers believe it was to be a key test of Kishida’s support in the party and ability to lead Japan.
A top expert on Japanese politics and national security, Rikki Larsen, said Abe’s death is likely to greatly boost support for the LDP.
“They will romp home even in seats they were going to give up on,” said Larsen, an honorary professor at the Australian National University.
And Abe’s death may lead to something he supported for years: amending the pacifist clauses in the Japanese constitution. The LDP and other parties have supported changing some of the constitution, though exactly what changes they might agree to remains unclear. The coalition of parties likely to support the change needs 82 votes. “It might give them impetus to change the constitution,” Larsen said.
So that makes Germany and Japan both on the road to historic increases in military spending in two countries whose militaries were severely curtailed after World War II. No harm could come of that, eh?
The world is going backward in so many ways.