Tokyo: A chariot carrying the body of the slain former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe Arrived in Tokyo on Saturday after being shot from close range on the campaign trail.
The assassination of Japan’s most famous politician shocked the country and sent shock waves around the world, especially given the country’s low level of violent crime and strict gun laws.
Senior members of Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party lined up in his honor as the vehicle, believed to be carrying his wife Aki Abe, entered the couple’s residence in the capital.
The man accused of Friday’s shooting is in custody after police said he confessed to killing the former prime minister, motivated by the belief that Abe was linked to an unspecified organization.
Police were conducting a background check on the unemployed 41-year-old, who claimed he had served in Japan’s navy, and said he used a handmade gun.
Abe was delivering a slogan speech ahead of Sunday’s Upper House election, and campaigning resumed on Saturday and politicians said they were determined to show that democracy would survive.
“We must not allow violence during elections to stifle speech, which is the foundation of democracy,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tweeted on Saturday after saluting voters in the Yamanashi region of central Japan.
“I believe that I have a responsibility to conduct the election of this House of Councilors in a free, fair and secure manner.”
Japanese media described a tense mood and high level of security in Kishida’s first campaign program since the assassination, with metal fences erected to separate the leader from the crowd.
Doctors said Friday that Abe showed no significant symptoms upon arrival and died of severe anemia despite a massive blood transfusion.
He described several wounds on the politician’s neck, with internal damage reaching the depths of his heart.
Abe’s killing shook Japan, with a clearly emotional Kishida describing Friday’s killing as a “barbaric act” that was “unforgivable”.
Kishida’s car was seen arriving at Abe’s house on Saturday afternoon to offer condolences.
The international reaction was similar, with US President Joe Biden saying he was “shocked, angry and deeply saddened”, and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on US government buildings.
Even the regional powers Abe was struggling with expressed condolences. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was “deeply saddened” by the killing, which the South Korean president called an “unacceptable act”.
Investigators were still piecing together a picture of the person behind the murder and his motives.
He has been identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, and police said on Friday that he admitted he targeted Abe for his hatred of an organization they believed was linked to the former leader. was.
He declined to name the organization, although Japanese media outlets have described it as a religious group.
Investigators said the gun he used is “apparently handmade,” and several other apparently handmade weapons were uncovered in protective gear by police who raided Yamagami’s home on Friday.
The suspect, arrested on charges of murder, opened fire on Abe shortly before Friday afternoon.
Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed Yamagami dressed in a brown shirt and brown trousers, walking behind him before pulling his arms out of a bag.
At least two shots appeared to have been fired, each producing a cloud of smoke. As the onlookers and journalists withdrew, they were thrown to the ground by security forces.
Japanese media reported that a wake-up call for Abe’s close family and aides would be held on Monday evening and a funeral on Tuesday.
On Friday night and Saturday morning, a steady stream of mourners came to offer flowers and pray for Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
Sachi Nagafuji, 54, a resident of Nara, who visited the site with his son, said, “I just couldn’t sit and do anything. I had to come.”
Abe was a descendant of a political family and became the country’s youngest prime minister after the war, when he took power for the first time in 2006 at the age of 52.
His turbulent first term ended in resignation for health reasons, but he returned to power in 2012 and remained in office until the return of his ulcerative colitis led to a second resignation in 2020.
His fierce, nationalist views were divisive, particularly his desire to reform the country’s pacifist constitution to recognize the country’s military, and he faced several scandals, including accusations of cronyism.
But he was praised for his economic strategy, dubbed “Abenomics” and his efforts to put Japan firmly on the world stage, which included close ties with US President Donald Trump.
The assassination of Japan’s most famous politician shocked the country and sent shock waves around the world, especially given the country’s low level of violent crime and strict gun laws.
Senior members of Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party lined up in his honor as the vehicle, believed to be carrying his wife Aki Abe, entered the couple’s residence in the capital.
The man accused of Friday’s shooting is in custody after police said he confessed to killing the former prime minister, motivated by the belief that Abe was linked to an unspecified organization.
Police were conducting a background check on the unemployed 41-year-old, who claimed he had served in Japan’s navy, and said he used a handmade gun.
Abe was delivering a slogan speech ahead of Sunday’s Upper House election, and campaigning resumed on Saturday and politicians said they were determined to show that democracy would survive.
“We must not allow violence during elections to stifle speech, which is the foundation of democracy,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tweeted on Saturday after saluting voters in the Yamanashi region of central Japan.
“I believe that I have a responsibility to conduct the election of this House of Councilors in a free, fair and secure manner.”
Japanese media described a tense mood and high level of security in Kishida’s first campaign program since the assassination, with metal fences erected to separate the leader from the crowd.
Doctors said Friday that Abe showed no significant symptoms upon arrival and died of severe anemia despite a massive blood transfusion.
He described several wounds on the politician’s neck, with internal damage reaching the depths of his heart.
Abe’s killing shook Japan, with a clearly emotional Kishida describing Friday’s killing as a “barbaric act” that was “unforgivable”.
Kishida’s car was seen arriving at Abe’s house on Saturday afternoon to offer condolences.
The international reaction was similar, with US President Joe Biden saying he was “shocked, angry and deeply saddened”, and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on US government buildings.
Even the regional powers Abe was struggling with expressed condolences. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was “deeply saddened” by the killing, which the South Korean president called an “unacceptable act”.
Investigators were still piecing together a picture of the person behind the murder and his motives.
He has been identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, and police said on Friday that he admitted he targeted Abe for his hatred of an organization they believed was linked to the former leader. was.
He declined to name the organization, although Japanese media outlets have described it as a religious group.
Investigators said the gun he used is “apparently handmade,” and several other apparently handmade weapons were uncovered in protective gear by police who raided Yamagami’s home on Friday.
The suspect, arrested on charges of murder, opened fire on Abe shortly before Friday afternoon.
Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed Yamagami dressed in a brown shirt and brown trousers, walking behind him before pulling his arms out of a bag.
At least two shots appeared to have been fired, each producing a cloud of smoke. As the onlookers and journalists withdrew, they were thrown to the ground by security forces.
Japanese media reported that a wake-up call for Abe’s close family and aides would be held on Monday evening and a funeral on Tuesday.
On Friday night and Saturday morning, a steady stream of mourners came to offer flowers and pray for Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
Sachi Nagafuji, 54, a resident of Nara, who visited the site with his son, said, “I just couldn’t sit and do anything. I had to come.”
Abe was a descendant of a political family and became the country’s youngest prime minister after the war, when he took power for the first time in 2006 at the age of 52.
His turbulent first term ended in resignation for health reasons, but he returned to power in 2012 and remained in office until the return of his ulcerative colitis led to a second resignation in 2020.
His fierce, nationalist views were divisive, particularly his desire to reform the country’s pacifist constitution to recognize the country’s military, and he faced several scandals, including accusations of cronyism.
But he was praised for his economic strategy, dubbed “Abenomics” and his efforts to put Japan firmly on the world stage, which included close ties with US President Donald Trump.