Photo/Illutration Voters in Kawasaki listen to a campaign speech on July 9, the final day of campaigning in the Upper House election. (Taro Ono)

Only one day after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was gunned down, the heads of major political parties resumed campaigning on July 9 across Japan while expressing the resolve to carry on. 

The party heads were making their final pleas to voters ahead of the Upper House election the following day.

Many party leaders canceled all campaign events on July 8 after Abe was shot and killed while giving a campaign speech on the streets of Nara.

But on July 9, the party heads not only espoused their specific policy priorities, but also touched upon the importance of not allowing the democratic process to be disrupted by violence.

At around 11 a.m. on July 9, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was at an event in Fuji-Yoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, and said, “Some people suggested not holding public speeches in the wake of the shooting. But as the prime minister of Japan, I felt the responsibility to carry on the thoughts held by former Prime Minister Abe and to complete the Upper House election in a free, fair and safe manner to protect democracy.”

Kishida was in northern Yamagata Prefecture on July 8 when he was told about the Abe shooting. He immediately returned to Tokyo as did many of his Cabinet ministers.

But the decision was made to have the ministers as well as executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party resume campaigning on July 9 after beefing up security.

However, aides to Kishida said the prime minister would not be doing fist bumps with voters after his speeches on the final day of campaigning.

Kenta Izumi, the head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, resumed campaigning on July 9 in Fukushima city.

While he said he continued to think about whether campaigning should continue after the incident, Izumi added, “Politicians must hold a new resolve for standing in front of voters today.”

He went on to criticize the Kishida administration for failing to adequately deal with the recent surge in consumer prices and called for a decrease in the 10 percent consumption tax rate.

While CDP executives canceled their events on July 8, candidates in Upper House races were instructed to stick to their original schedules.

Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of junior coalition partner Komeito, canceled all scheduled events in the wake of the shooting, but he, too, was making his final campaign speeches on July 9, including one in Kawasaki, located just west of Tokyo.

“We will never give in to violence,” Yamaguchi said. “I will speak in public with the thought of wanting to complete this election.”

He added that voters were most concerned about how to overcome rising prices.

Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui, who heads Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), said in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, “Elections are about having all of you select policies. You possess that right. Nippon Ishin’s main argument has been about the current administrative structure, which we feel must be reformed.”

All Nippon Ishin executives and candidates had canceled their events on July 8.

As the other major parties canceled campaign events on July 8, the Japanese Communist Party and Social Democratic Party proceeded with their planned events.

JCP head Kazuo Shii said on July 8, “Canceling campaigning activities would mean giving in to violence.”

Speaking in Saitama city on July 9, Shii said Japan should focus on diplomacy rather than increasing defense spending in order to bring peace to East Asia.”

Yuichiro Tamaki, the head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, resumed campaigning on July 9 and said in Kawasaki that measures should be taken to raise wages and to protect the nation.

“At the foundation, there is no difference between the Japan envisioned by former Prime Minister Abe and by me,” Tamaki said.

In Kanagawa Prefecture, SDP head Mizuho Fukushima called for eradicating  war and violence in the world and Japan.

Taro Yamamoto, the head of Reiwa Shinsengumi, was scheduled to resume campaigning on July 9, as was Takashi Tachibana, the head of the anti-NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) party.

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