TOKYO –
Japanese people went to the polls on Sunday in the shadow of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot while delivering a campaign speech. Abe’s ruling party appeared to be sailing toward a major victory.
As people voted, police in western Japan sent the suspected killer to the local prosecutors’ office for further investigation. A day earlier, a senior regional police official acknowledged possible security lapses that allowed the attacker to get so close and fire a bullet at the still-influential former Japanese leader.
In a country still reeling from the shock, sadness and fear of the shooting of Abe, the first former or acting leader to be assassinated in post-war Japan, voting has begun for the lesser half of the upper house. powerful member of Japan’s bicameral parliament.
Abe was shot in Nara on Friday and was airlifted to a hospital, but died of blood loss. Police arrested a former member of the Japanese navy at the scene. Police confiscated a homemade gun and several more were later found in his apartment.
The suspected attacker, Tetsuya Yamagami, told investigators he acted because of Abe’s alleged connection to an organization that bothered him, police said, but that he had no problem with the former leader’s political views. The man had developed a hatred for a religious group his mother was obsessed with that bankrupted a family business, according to media reports, including some that identified the group as the Unification Church.
Abe’s body, in a black hearse accompanied by his wife, Akie, returned home to Tokyo’s exclusive Shibuya, where many mourners, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and top party officials, paid tribute. His wake and funeral are expected in the next few days.
Nara Prefectural Police Chief Tomoaki Onizuka said Saturday that Abe’s killing was the “biggest regret” in his 27-year career. He said the security issues were undeniable, that he took the shooting seriously and would review surveillance procedures.
Abe’s assassination ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections shocked the nation and raised questions about whether adequate security was provided for the former prime minister.
Some observers who watched videos of the attack noted a lack of attention in the open space behind Abe as he spoke.
Experts also said Abe was more vulnerable standing on ground level rather than on top of a campaign vehicle, a standard for top-tier politicians, but that option was reportedly not available due to his hasty visit to Nara.
Mitsuru Fukuda, a professor of crisis management at Nihon University, said police were seen focusing forward and paying little attention to what was behind Abe, noting that the suspect approached the former leader unnoticed until who fired the first shot.
“Clearly there were problems,” Fukuda said.
The first shot narrowly missed Abe and hit a polling vehicle. The second that entered from the upper part of his left arm damaged the artery in his neck, causing massive bleeding and death.
Fukuda said election campaigns provide an opportunity for voters and politicians to interact because “political terrorism” was extremely rare in postwar Japan. It’s a key democratic process, but Abe’s assassination could lead to tighter security at crowded events like rallies, sports games and more.
On Saturday, as the party leaders stepped out for their final appeals under heightened security, there were no more fist bumps, an alternative to the COVID-19-era handshakes, or other friendly gestures of proximity they used to enjoy.
After Abe’s assassination, Sunday’s election took on new meaning, with all political leaders emphasizing the importance of free speech and their promise not to back down from violence against democracy.
“We steadfastly refuse to allow violence to wipe out freedom of expression,” Kishida said at his latest rally in the northern city of Niigata on Saturday amid heightened security. “We must show that our democracy and our election will not revert to violence.”
According to the Asahi newspaper, Yamagami was a contract worker at a warehouse in Kyoto, operating a forklift. He was described as a quiet person at first, but he began flouting rules that led to fights with his colleagues, then he started missing work and resigned in April citing health problems. A next-door neighbor in his apartment told Asahi that he had never met Yamagami, although he recalled hearing noises like the use of a saw several times late at night over the past month.
Japan is known for its strict gun laws. With a population of 125 million, it had just 21 gun-related criminal cases in 2020, according to the latest government criminal document. However, experts say some recent attacks involved the use of consumer items such as gasoline, suggesting a higher risk of ordinary people being drawn into mass attacks.
While media polls had predicted a major victory for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party amid a fractured and weak opposition, a wave of sympathy votes for Abe’s assassination could bring a bigger victory than Kishida’s modest goal of win the majority on camera.
Even after stepping down as prime minister in 2020, Abe was highly influential in the LDP, heading its largest faction. His absence could shift the balance of power in the ruling party that has ruled almost uninterruptedly in postwar Japan since its founding in 1955, experts say.
“This could be a turning point” for the LDP on its divisive policies on gender equality, same-sex marriage and other issues that have been resisted by Abe-backed ultraconservatives with paternalistic family values, Fukuda said.
Japan’s current diplomatic and security posture is unlikely to change because Abe had already made fundamental changes. His ultra-nationalist views and realistic political moves made him a divisive figure for many, including in Korea and China.
Abe resigned two years ago, blaming a recurrence of ulcerative colitis he had had since he was a teenager. He said he regretted leaving many of his goals unfinished, including the issue of Japanese kidnapped years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia and a revision of Japan’s renouncing war constitution that many conservatives see as a humiliation. due to low public support.
Abe was groomed to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. His political rhetoric often focused on making Japan a “normal” and “beautiful” nation with a stronger military through a security alliance with the United States and a larger role in international affairs.
He became Japan’s youngest prime minister in 2006, at age 52. But his first overly nationalistic term ended abruptly a year later, also because of his health, prompting a six-year annual leadership change.
He returned to office in 2012, vowing to reinvigorate the nation and bring its economy out of its deflationary doldrums with his “Abenomics” formula, which combines fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural reforms. He won six national elections and built a rock-solid grip on power.