A Day After Abe’s assassination, Campaigns Make a Final Push

In the hours immediately after Mr. Abe’s shooting in the city of Nara, it seemed that the campaign period — which was slated to end Saturday night — might finish early as the country wrestled with the death of one of its most powerful and influential political figures.

But on Friday evening, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a short eulogy for Mr. Abe, announced that he intended to continue campaigning on behalf of his Liberal Democratic Party, saying that to do otherwise would be to surrender to violence.

He traveled amid heightened security on Saturday to two prefectures to support candidates for the party. While he addressed Mr. Abe’s death in remarks to voters, he largely focused on election issues, like how to revive Japan’s economy and address rising prices.

For opposition parties, the political calculus of campaigning after the assassination was more complex. As a critical figure in the Liberal Democratic Party, which is conservative, Mr. Abe had often served as a foil for liberal politicians.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/09/business/japan-election-abe-assassination.html