A table with a photo of Abe delivering a speech was placed on that spot, but some of the offerings had to be moved to give more space to the mourners. (PHOTO BY REUTERS)
NARA, Japan — Moments before he was fatally shot on Friday, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was doing what he had done for decades—getting up close to the crowds and stumping for a local candidate.
Violent crime is rare in Japan, which has also some of the world’s toughest gun control laws.
Thus security appeared to be light that noon as Abe addressed a crowd at an intersection outside the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in this city.
Roads weren’t blocked off and a bus and a van passed behind him. Inside a passing hatchback car, someone waved in excited recognition at Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. Some snapped pictures with their phone.
Dressed in a dark jacket despite the summer heat, Abe called on his audience to reelect Kei Sato, a candidate in Sunday’s upper house election.
Members of the special police, Japan’s equivalent of the secret service, appeared to be standing at his right and behind him, as the two-term prime minister, the longest to hold the country’s top post, talked about Sato’s track record as councilor, particularly his pandemic response.
Behind Abe, a skinny man dressed in a gray T-shirt and beige cargo pants strode, then opened fire at him at close range with a weapon the police later described as a homemade gun.
Two shots fired
The man was later identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old former member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force—the equivalent of the country’s navy.
Businessman Makoto Ichikawa, who was near the train station waiting for his wife, said Yamagami “came out of nowhere on to the middle of the road holding a gun.”
He said “no one knew what was going on” at the first shot. But after the second shot, the special police were pinning down Yamagami to the ground.
A woman told NHK “The first shot sounded like a toy bazooka.”
“The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke,” she said.
Another witness, Takenobu Nakajima, also a businessman, said there was a pause of about 20 seconds before police were able to tackle Yamagami.
By then, Abe, 67, lay crumpled on the ground.
Ken Namikawa, the city mayor of Tenri in this prefecture also named Nara, called out over a microphone asking if there were any doctors or nurses among the crowd.
A nurse came running and joined the people attending to Abe, one of whom administered heart massage.
The former premier was airlifted to a hospital in the nearby city of Kashihara but was pronounced dead several hours later, despite a team of 20 medics trying to resuscitate him.
Doctors said Abe had bled to death from deep wounds to the heart and the right side of his neck, even after receiving more than 100 units of blood in transfusions over four hours.
Mourners
A steady stream of mourners on Saturday visited the scene of Abe’s murder.
“I’m just shocked that this kind of thing happened in Nara,” Natsumi Niwa, a 50-year-old housewife, said after offering flowers together with her 10-year-old son.
Over 100 people were queuing to lay flowers by midday. A table had been placed there, featuring a photo of Abe giving a speech, as more Japanese arrived to honor him. Local officials later had to move some of the offerings to create space.
Japanese media said a night vigil will be held on Monday, with Abe’s funeral to take place on Tuesday, attended by close friends. There was no word yet about any public memorial service.
Meanwhile, police are scrambling to establish details of the motive and method of Abe’s suspected assailant.
According to local media, Yamagami told investigators that Abe was linked to a religious group which he blamed for ruining his mother financially and breaking up the family. Police have not identified the group that the confessed gunman was referring to.
Ichikawa, one of the witnesses at the shooting, said he was struck by Yamagami’s face as he saw the man fire at Abe.
“It was just a normal expression,” said the witness.
Campaign resumes
But amid the nation’s grief, the election campaign resumed on its last day before polling for the upper house of Parliament on Sunday.
Voters are expected to deliver victory to the majority coalition led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, an Abe protégé.
On Friday a visibly emotional Kishida described the assassination as a “despicable and barbaric act.”
But he needed to return to the election campaign as he visited regional constituencies.
Analysts of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said Abe’s killing “heightens the prospect for stronger turnout and greater support for the Liberal Democratic Party.”
Abe had retained considerable influence over the ruling party, which was already expected to gain more seats before Friday’s tragedy.
A strong election performance “could catalyze Kishida to push for Abe’s unfulfilled goal of amending Japan’s constitution to allow for a stronger role for the military,” James Brady, vice president at advisory firm Teneo, wrote in a note.
But the murder also raises questions about security for public figures in Japan, where politicians commonly make direct appeals to voters outside train stations and supermarkets.
Half-staff
Kishida has spoken with US President Joe Biden, who expressed his condolences and praised Abe’s leadership.
Biden on Saturday ordered US flags flown at half-staff to honor the former premier.
The United States, India and Australia also issued a joint statement saying “We will honor Prime Minister Abe’s memory by redoubling our work toward a peaceful and prosperous region.”
These countries, together with Japan, are members of the Quad group, which was established in 2007 to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
A spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Japan said “We express our condolences on [Abe’s] passing and express sympathy and solicitude for his family.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to the Abe family, saying he was an “outstanding statesman” who helped develop “good neighborly ties between our countries.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also extended his condolences to the family and said on Twitter there was “no excuse [for] this heinous act of violence.”
The leaders of South Korea, Britain, Canada, France, and Germany, among other countries, also expressed outrage over the killing and commended Abe’s efforts to strengthen the international community.
The Security Council of the United Nations observed a moment of silence on Saturday to honor the Japanese leader.
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