Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed away after being shot in the street in broad daylight while making a campaign speech in the central city of Nara, in an attack that has shocked the nation. Mr. Abe was making a speech in support of LDP candidates ahead of the upcoming Upper House elections scheduled for Sunday.
A suspect, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, a local man in his 40s, was arrested and charged with murder. It appears the suspect used a handmade gun in the attack, though the motive remains unclear. He is being held for questioning at Nara Nishi police station. In response to the investigation, Yamagami-former Maritime Self-Defense Force member- said, "I wanted to kill former Prime Minister Abe," but stated that "it is not a grudge against former Prime Minister Abe's political beliefs." ..
Mr. Abe was thinking of returning Japan to its prewar state (especially the period from the early Showa period when the went out of control to the defeat). Political and administrative policies that aroused fear of the unknown stood out.
Mr. Abe's shooting has shocked Japan, which has one of the lowest rates of gun crime in the world due to its extremely strict gun control laws.
