The Upper House election was held July 10, amid lingering shock waves from the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was gunned down while delivering a stump speech only two days earlier.
The New Zealand prime minister’s visit to Japan was a strategic move to reconnect with a close partner to deal with expanding security issues in the Indo-Pacific region.
India is among the few countries with which Japan has signed a key agreement for reciprocal provision of supplies and services between their defence forces in order to drive closer military cooperation and contribute to security in the Indo-Pacific.