What happened?
On 8 July, the former Prime Minister of Japan and serving member of the House of Representatives Shinzo Abe was assassinated at a political rally in the Nara Prefecture. Abe was rallying for his party Liberal Democratic Party’s candidate when he was shot from behind. He was declared dead five and a half hours after being rushed to Nara Medical University Hospital.
The assassination was carried out by a former member of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force Tetsuya Yamagami who held Abe responsible for his family’s bankruptcy caused by the Unification Church. The accused used a homemade gun resembling a double-barreled shotgun. Other explosives and homemade weapons were found at the suspect’s house, who is now in police custody.
Heads of States around the world responded to Abe’s death with great remorse and expressed their condolences. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China’s President Xi Jinping, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol and many more leaders across the world expressed their shock and recounted Abe’s achievements and praiseworthy decisions during his tenure as the leader of Japan.
The Quad also issued a joint statement at the assassination and was signed by the US, Australia and India. The heads of states pledged to “honour Abe’s memory by redoubling our work towards a peaceful and prosperous region.”
What does it mean?
The assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe comes as a shock because of the non-violent and practically rare gun related violence in the country. He was an asset to Japan who led the country during challenging political and economic times. His contributions to the economic revival have played a key role in Japan’s status and stature in the international order in the present times. He foresaw the threats of militarization in the region and rallied support to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific. Abe efficiently managed Japan’s foreign relations between the US and China at a time when there was growing hostility and trade wars between the global superpowers. Abe’s assassination is an unfortunate event in the history of Japan.