EX-PM IS GUNNED6 DOWN IN STREET
Assassination of Japan’s longest serving premier shocks the world
FORMER Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated yesterday as he gave a campaign speech outside a railway station.
The country’s longest-serving PM was shot twice, collapsing on the second shot, and witnesses saw his shirt smeared with blood.
A team of 20 doctors were unable to save him in hospital, and he died from “excessive bleeding”, aged 67.
Surgeons found a bullet wound to his neck and a large wound on his heart.
Gunman Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, an unemployed former member of the Japanese navy, was tackled by security guards and arrested at the scene.
Current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the shooting as a “heinous act”.
He said: “This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections – the very foundation of our democracy – and is absolutely unforgivable. It is barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated.”
Witnesses said the gunman had approached Mr Abe – who was surrounded by a security team – from behind, before firing two shots. He told police he had done it because he was “frustrated” at the former PM, who had been speaking in the city of Nara ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary elections.
The weapon was believed to be a home-made shotgun which was found on the street nearby.
When police raided Yamagami’s house they found a large arsenal of explosives and weapons. A murder inquiry had been launched and a 90-strong team has been assigned to the case.
Police said Yamagami had already confessed to the murder and told officers he had a grudge against a “specific organisation” which he believed Mr Abe was a part of. Mr Abe was Prime Minister twice, first from 2006 to 2007 and then from 2012 to 2020. He was born on September 21, 1954, in Tokyo, to a prominent political family.
Both his grandfather and great uncle served as Prime Ministers, and his father was a former secretary general of the right-leaning Liberal Democratic Party.
The Queen said she was “deeply saddened” by Mr Abe’s death. She added in a message of condolence to the Emperor of Japan: “I have fond memories of meeting Mr Abe and his wife during their visit to the United Kingdom in 2016. His love for Japan, and his desire to forge ever-closer bonds with the United Kingdom, were clear.
“I wish to convey my deepest sympathy and condolences to his family and to the people of Japan at this difficult time.”
David Cameron, who was Prime Minister when Mr Abe began his second term in office, said he was “a good friend personally, a strong partner to the UK, and a thoroughly kind and decent man”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said: “Japan has lost a great prime minister.” He added that Mr Abe “dedicated his life to his country and worked for stability in the world”.
US President Joe Biden said he was “stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened”. He said Mr Abe “cared deeply about the Japanese people and dedicated his life to their service”. He added: “Even at the moment he was attacked, he was engaged in the work of democracy. The United States stands with Japan in this moment of grief.”
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said: “Events like this shake us all to the core.”
The assassination has shocked Japan where there is little gun crime. The country has close to zero-tolerance of gun ownership, with just 32 deaths attributed to firearms in Japan in 2020, according to the Small Arms Survey.
His love for Japan, and his desire to forge ever-closer bonds with the UK, were clear
THE QUEEN PAYS TRIBUTE TO FORMER JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER SHINZO ABE