The Nara police chief in western Japan said today that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s security apparatus had “undeniable” flaws. In the middle of an election rally, the former prime minister was shot dead in an incident that shocked the country yesterday.
“There is no doubt that there are problems with Former Prime Minister Abe’s protection and security arrangements,” said Nara Police Chief Tomoaki Onizuka. said. He promised a thorough investigation into the case and “to take all necessary action”.
Japanese media today showed the hearse entrance to the Abe family’s Tokyo home, accompanied by the former prime minister’s wife, Akie. This morning the vehicle left the hospital in Kashihara, near Nara, where Abe was taken after the attack yesterday.
Image: Jiji Press/AFP
The 67-year-old former prime minister was shot during an election rally and died in hospital a few hours later. Abe, who was shot in the neck with two bullets, could not recover from his injuries despite all the efforts of the medical teams.
The attacker, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, is a former member of the Japanese navy and is currently unemployed. Authorities said he admitted to deliberately targeting Abe using an “apparently homemade” weapon. The man said he believed the former prime minister was part of an organization he wanted revenge on, but did not name it. Some Japanese newspapers mentioned a religious group, but the information was not confirmed by the police.
Shinzo Abe’s funeral will be held on Monday (11) and his funeral on Tuesday (12) only in the presence of the former prime minister’s family and people close to him.
“Fist of Democracy”
Japanese citizens express their distrust and sadness over the assassination of the former prime minister, who ruled the country for eight years. “This is terrible. Killing a man in the middle of an election campaign while he was exposing his ideas is a deliberate attack on freedom of expression and thought. It is a blow to democracy,” says one Tokyo resident. RFI.
Another citizen of the Japanese capital reminds that such violence is rare in the country. “We see shootings every week in the United States. But in Japan? The country with one of the toughest laws against the possession of firearms. It’s incomprehensible, scary and alarming,” he says.
At the time of the attack, Abe was giving a speech as part of the Senate election campaign scheduled for tomorrow. According to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the vote will not be postponed “in the name of democracy”.
Today, the prime minister attended a rally in Yamanashi, in the west of the country. “Violence cannot take away freedom of expression,” he said in an interview with local media. Yesterday, the prime minister condemned “a barbaric and unforgivable act”.
Regards to Abe
Abe’s killing was condemned by leaders around the world. China and South Korea, with which Japan has occasionally conflicting relations, offered their condolences. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was “deeply saddened” by the news of the former prime minister’s death.
US President Joe Biden said he was “surprised, touched and deeply saddened” by an assassination that he described as “a tragedy for Japan and everyone who knew it”. Queen Elizabeth sent a message of condolence to Emperor Naruhito of Japan, saying she was “deeply saddened” by the news.
European Union leaders said they were shocked by the “brutal” death of the former Japanese prime minister, whom they called the “great democrat”, while Russian President Vladimir Putin called it an “irreparable loss”.
“This hasn’t happened in more than 50-60 years in Japan,” Corey Wallace, a specialist in Japanese politics at the University of Kanagawa, told AFP. According to the analyst, the last such attack in the country was the 1960 assassination of Japanese Socialist Party leader Inejiro Asanuma, who was stabbed by a student affiliated with the far-right.
(With information from RFI and AFP)
Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe dies in gun attack.
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source: Noticias
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