MNI BRIEF: Japan Ruling Party Wins In Upper House Election

Japan's ruling coalition won the majority of seats contested in Sunday's upper house elections, with counting still ongoing in some districts.

But while citizens validated Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government, the mood among the victors was mostly joyless, as the vote came just two days after the assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe, local news media reported. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller partner Komeito together secured more than half the 125 available seats.

Meanwhile, the largest opposition group, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), failed to expand support, while opposition group, Nippon Ishin (the Japan Innovation Party) was poised to increase its seats.

Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party was buoyed by strong voter support and public confidence in his nine-month-old administration despite the country struggling with higher prices and security threats posed by Russia's war in Ukraine.