Japan’s former prime minister dead: what is known about the assassination of Abe

Japan’s former Prime Minister Abe was gunned down at a campaign rally and later died of his injuries. An arrested suspect admitted to having fired the shots – what else is known about the crime.

The crime scene

Abe appeared at a campaign rally in the western Japanese city of Nara earlier this morning. There, the former Japanese prime minister was delivering a speech on a stage in front of the Yamato Saidaiji train station. In terms of content, he campaigned for his party colleague Kei Sato before the elections to the upper house of parliament on Sunday. Abe retired from the post of prime minister in 2020 but remained politically active for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The course of action

At around 11:30 a.m. local time, a man dressed in a gray top and brown pants approached Abe from behind – off the street. This is shown by recordings from Japanese television stations. He fired at the ex-prime minister at least twice.

After that, smoke went up – the frightened bystanders ducked to the ground. Abe collapsed bleeding. According to eyewitnesses, bystanders began with a cardiac massage. The attacker was wrestled to the ground and arrested by police. Abe was taken to Kashihara City University Hospital in a helicopter.

According to the state broadcaster NHK, Abe was able to speak in the minutes after the crime before he lost consciousness. At 12:20 p.m., Abe was admitted to the university hospital’s emergency department with cardiac arrest, according to medical professor Hidetada Fukushima. “Resuscitation measures have been initiated. Unfortunately, however, he died at 5:03 p.m.,” Fukushima said. Abe was hit in the neck by two bullets. Abe bled to death, it was later said.

The culprit

According to local police, the attacker is 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, who lives in Nara city. According to police, he has now confessed to the crime.

Yamagami was a member of the Japanese Navy for three years until 2005, according to several media outlets, citing the Ministry of Defense.

The motif

“The suspect alleged that he had a grudge against a certain organization and committed the crime because he believed former Prime Minister Abe was connected to it,” a senior police official said. He did not initially provide any further details.

According to state broadcaster NHK, the man told police immediately after his arrest that he was “frustrated” with the former prime minister and shot him “to kill him”. His actions had nothing to do with Abe’s policy.

The murder weapon

The attacker is said to have used a self-made weapon about 40 centimeters long for the crime. According to the NHK, the police searched Yamagami’s apartment after the crime and found potentially explosive substances and other weapons. A police spokesman said the investigation is ongoing, but the weapon used was “clearly” not professionally made, he added.

The security situation in Japan

Gun laws in Japan are among the strictest in the world. Deaths from gun violence are in the single digits each year in the country of 125 million people. In Japan, it is therefore not uncommon for politicians to get very close to the audience at public appearances.

According to media reports, a special officer from Tokyo and some local police officers were responsible for Abe’s safety. It is not clear how many officers were deployed. The roads around the venue were also not closed.