Japan ruling bloc wins upper house election

The Nikkei Asia has reported that Japan's ruling coalition won the majority of seats contested in Sunday's upper house election, 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.''

''The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller partner Komeito together secured more than half the 125 available seats, according to Nikkei projections.''

In other news, the Japanese yen and the US dollar rose in Asia on Friday as investors leapt to safe assets after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot. Abe was shot on Friday while campaigning, a government spokesman said.

The yen fell nearly 16% on the dollar through the first half of 2022 but has lately found support on a safe haven bid and from the risk of a central bank policy shift.