The party of the assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was set to sweep Japan’s parliament elections on Sunday, with a wave of sympathy votes potentially carrying it over the line. Exit polls from the upper-house elections showed Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, which reigns as the governing party in Japan, holding onto its grip with over half of the chamber’s 245 seats. The results were even more significant, as his assassination occurred while Abe was campaigning on behalf of the party on Friday. His death spurred a call to action by the country’s current prime minister, Fumio Kishida. “We absolutely refuse to let violence shut out free speech,” Kishida said in a rally speech on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. “We must demonstrate that our democracy and election will not back down on violence.”
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