Status: 08/25/2022 11:13 a.m
The investigation into the assassination of Japanese ex-Prime Minister Abe has revealed deficiencies in security measures. As a result, Japan’s chief of police, Nakamura, resigned.
After the killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s police chief Itaru Nakamura has taken responsibility for failing to protect the politician. He announced his resignation at a press conference.
There were “deficiencies in the safety plans” and in the risk assessment, Nakamura said. The on-site operations manager’s instructions were “inadequate”. The root of the problem lies in the “limits of the current system” in which the local police are solely responsible for security measures.
The findings from the investigation into the deficiencies would have prompted the national police authority to “restart and revise our security system”. It was natural to approach the matter with a new lineup of people, Nakamura continued.
Global horror after assassination
Abe was shot dead at close range from behind with a homemade gun by a former military man while delivering a campaign speech at an intersection in the city of Nara on July 8. The assassination had sparked outrage in the country, known for its low crime rate and extremely strict gun laws, and around the world.
investigation report submitted
The police chief’s resignation was announced when an investigation report into the assassination was presented. An officer dispatched by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and several local police officers were in the immediate vicinity of Abe that day.
Nevertheless, the perpetrator was able to approach Abe from behind unnoticed by the officers, pull his self-made gun from a shoulder bag, aim it and fire two shots at the conservative politician.
Abe was standing on a traffic island behind crash barriers. Just before he began speaking, one of the local officers, who had his back to Abe, stepped into the cordoned-off area and faced the audience without informing the other officers or the incident commander, the police department said.
In Japan, it has been customary for politicians to give speeches at busy crossroads, in front of train stations or in front of large shops, without being largely shielded.
Motive: Hatred of Mun sect
The perpetrator was arrested at the scene of the crime. By the end of November he is to be examined psychologically. He gave hatred of the controversial Unification Church of the Korean sect founder San Myung Mun as the motive for the act, to which Abe had had connections. Horrendous donations from his mother to the sect would have ruined the family.
Since the assassination, the spotlight has been on Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ties to the organization known as the Mun sect. The sect is known for its conservative, anti-Communist sentiments and mass weddings.