The 67-year-old leader, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, has remained a powerful figure in the country’s politics after stepping down from the role in 2020. He was shot in the back while giving a speech outdoors and was quickly airlifted to a hospital. but he was pronounced dead a few hours later. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was arrested for the murder when Abe was shot. He himself admitted that he killed the former leader. Here are five things you should know about the murder: Abe was on a street in the western Japanese city of Nara when he was killed on Friday. He was speaking at an event for the Liberal Democratic Party ahead of Japan’s House of Councilors election, due to be held on Sunday. Abe has been a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, Japan’s current ruling party, for decades. He was the country’s prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. Officials told reporters that Yamagami, who admitted to fatally shooting Abe, used a homemade weapon to kill the former leader, according to multiple media reports. The gun, which was seen in the video of the attack, appeared to have two barrels held together with duct tape. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing sources inside the investigation into the shooting, that the weapon was one of several Yamagami made from steel pipes and duct tape. He told police he bought the parts he used to make the guns online, store by store. Gun ownership and gun violence are both rare in Japan, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. The country bans revolvers and allows residents to own shotguns and air rifles only if they undergo a rigorous licensing process that includes a mental health evaluation, background check and written exam and accuracy test at a shooting range, among other steps. This process must then be repeated every three years to renew the license. Once licensees acquire guns, they must also register them with the police, who must inspect them annually, and provide the authorities with information about how the guns and ammunition are stored. Authorities in Japan are working to uncover why Yamagami killed the former prime minister, with the assailant claiming his motive had nothing to do with Abe’s politics. Investigation sources told The Japanese Times that Yamagami said he attacked Abe because he believed the former prime minister promoted a religious group that bankrupted his mother. The gunman reportedly told authorities he initially planned to attack a leader of the religious group, to which his mother made large donations, before targeting Abe. The apparently light security cover for Abe on the day of the assassination has drawn scrutiny since his death. Cars passed behind the former prime minister as he spoke, as the road was not blocked off for his speech and the crowd was just meters away, the Japanese Times reported. Japan’s National Police Agency said it would investigate whether there were any lapses in Abe’s security, according to the agency. During his speech, Abe was to be protected by a team made up of officers from the security division of the Nara Prefectural Police and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Nara prefectural police chief Tomoaki Onizuka on Saturday said there were “undeniable” issues with the former prime minister’s security and pledged a “thorough investigation,” according to the Guardian. “I think it is undeniable that there were problems with the guarding and security measures for former Prime Minister Abe,” Onizuka said. “In all the years since I became a police officer in 1995 … there is no greater remorse, no greater sorrow than this,” he added. After being pronounced dead, Abe was transferred from Nara Prefectural Hospital to Tokyo, according to The Japanese Times. Senior members of the Liberal Democratic Party were at his home in the capital when his body arrived to pay their respects, the report said. Biden defends Saudi trip End of Roe makes bad situation worse for incarcerated women A wake will be held for Abe on Monday, followed by a funeral on Tuesday, CNN reported, citing Abe’s office. NHK said only family and others close to the former prime minister will attend the funeral, which will be hosted by his widow at a Tokyo temple, according to CNN. Abe’s firing was met with an outpouring of statements expressing shock and grief from leaders around the world. “I am stunned, outraged and deeply saddened by the news that my friend Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, has been shot and killed on the campaign trail,” President Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “This is a tragedy for Japan and for everyone who knew him.”
