Comment TOKYO — The assassination of former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe at a political rally on Friday shocked a country where strict gun laws mean gun violence is almost unheard of, as a procession of mourners laid flowers, tea and sake near her site. attack to honor the country’s longest-serving prime minister. An investigation has been launched into the gunman’s motives and the security measures in place for Abe, who was attacked while looking after a member of the center-right Liberal Democratic Party in Nara, near Osaka. The suspect, a 41-year-old unemployed man from Nara named Tetsuya Yamagami, told investigators he believed Abe was associated with a group he hated, police said. Campaigning for Japan’s upper house resumed on Saturday, with candidates and surrogates – including incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida – back on the trail ahead of Sunday’s election. Abe’s ruling LDP, which has dominated Japanese politics since its founding in 1955, is expected to be victorious. If the LDP retains or expands its control of the upper house, it will pave the way for Kishida, who was elected in October, to implement some of his most ambitious policy proposals. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s long-time leader, has died aged 67 Aki Abe, the slain leader’s wife, returned to Tokyo from Nara on Saturday morning and Abe’s body was brought back in a hearse. Details of funeral arrangements have not been released. Security around his Tokyo home had been stepped up overnight, with more police on the scene. Little is known about the shooter and his motives. Yamagami was a member of the Japan Naval Self-Defense Force for three years in his early 20s. Police found several improvised weapons in his home on Friday. Yamagami was arrested at the scene and admitted to shooting Abe with an improvised weapon, officials said. He told investigators that his mother had gone bankrupt after spending her money to support a religious group, Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported, citing police sources. Yamagami said he learned of Abe’s visit online and headed to the site by subway on Friday, Mainichi reported. Police declined to identify the group, citing the ongoing investigation. Japan’s National Police Agency has launched an investigation into security protocols in place for Abe, one of the country’s most recognizable political figures. According to the Japanese news agency Jiji Press, Abe was guarded by a team from the Nara Police Station and officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Nara police said Friday night that they scrambled to ensure security because they were only informed of Abe’s presence the night before the event. Kishida spoke by phone with President Biden on Saturday morning. After the shooting, Biden visited the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Washington and signed the book of condolences. “On behalf of the Biden family and all of America, we extend our sincere condolences to the Abe family and the people of Japan,” Biden wrote. “It is not only a loss to his wife and family — and to the people of Japan, but a loss to the world. A man of peace and judgment — he will be missed.” What are Japan’s gun laws? Abe’s killing shocks the country where shootings are rare. Abe, 67, has remained a power broker in his party even after leaving power. He was a towering figure at home and abroad who came from a prominent political family. He served a brief first term as prime minister in 2006, making him the youngest person to become prime minister of post-war Japan. He died Friday from blood loss less than five hours after being shot in the neck and chest. The killer fired twice and the second shot caused both wounds, police said – raising questions about the type of gun and ammunition the gunman had used. The shooting reverberated across the country, which has low crime rates and some of the world’s most restrictive gun laws. Firearms are rare, and so are fatal shootings, of which there has been exactly one in all of 2021. Last year, eight out of 10 shootings in Japan were yakuza-related, according to the National Police Service, resulting in one death and four injuries.
