Japan's dovish Kishida may now take defence mantle of slain mentor Abe.
As reported by Reuters on July 11, 2022, via Yahoo news:
After a strong showing in an election overshadowed by the killing of former premier Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may have fresh momentum to hike defence spending on a scale beyond the grasp of his slain mentor.
In doing so, Kishida, a moderate from Hiroshima who wants nuclear weapons banned, would expand on Abe's hawkish legacy and ensure support from Liberal Democratic Party hardliners loyal to Abe.
The LDP's ruling coalition increased its majority in parliament's upper house two days after Abe, the nation's longest-serving premier and a party power broker, was gunned down during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara.
