Former military general Shinzo Abe was trained for the job and was a political blue blood. His murder was a tragic case of political corruption and mismanagement.
KAMPALA | NOW THEN DIGITAL — The first thing to understand about the assassination of Shinzo Abe is that he was shot in the chest and neck. As a result, he sustained major damage to his heart.
- The murder of Shinzo Abe was a tragic case of political corruption and mismanagement. A former general, Abe was a political blueblood with a long political career.
- The pellets in Abe’s chest were deep enough that they reached his heart after he was shot twice from behind with an improvised handgun resembling a double-barreled shotgun.
- A video of the shooting shows a bullet striking the prime minister’s neck and clavicle. Police said the assassin used a handgun and was likely aiming for his head.
This made him a political blueblood and he was rushed to the hospital. Whether or not he survived is still uncertain.
In the following article, we will discuss the reasons why prime minister Shinzo Abe of Japan was killed.
Shinzo Abe was shot twice in the chest and neck
A report on Japanese television showed footage of Shinzo Abe speaking to the public outside a train station just as the two shots rang out.
At one point, the prime minister collapsed from cardiopulmonary arrest. Paramedics tended to him while white smoke billowed around them.
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In a separate report, a Kyodo news agency reported that Abe was shot twice in the chest and neck. Abe was rushed to the hospital but was in a critical condition.
The incident remains under investigation, and the motive of the shooting remains unclear.
The shooting left Abe seriously injured, and the man who shot him was quickly caught by the Prime Minister’s security detail and arrested.
The suspect, a man in his 40s, was wearing a grey shirt and light brown trousers. He had a surgical mask on his face. He did not try to flee, although his security detail wrestled him to the ground.
The suspect was identified by local media as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, a former member of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Local media reported that Abe appeared to be suffering from cardiac arrest, a condition that usually precedes the formal certification of death by the coroner.
It is unclear why Abe was targeted, but he remains an influential voice within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
His death is likely to have a significant impact on the election results on Sunday.
Abe was one of the leading voices in recent months calling for a revision of Japan’s pacifist constitution, which was drafted after World War II.
The shooting occurred during an election for the upper house of parliament. Although Japan has strict gun laws, the country remains among the safest countries in the world.
Abe’s assassination comes just as the party faces a tough election period.
Despite the high number of people protesting the government, the Prime Minister remains highly influential in the Liberal Democratic Party and is the head of its largest faction.
He suffered major damage to his heart
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated on July 8, 2022 in Nara, southwest Japan.
He was giving a campaign speech when he was shot by a gunman. As he lay bleeding on the street, police rushed him to a nearby hospital.
He was not breathing when he was airlifted to the hospital and died after massive blood transfusions. With an improvised hand gun resembling a double-barreled shotgun, Abe was shot twice from behind, and collapsed.
The pellets penetrated his heart.
Prime Minister Abe’s heart was badly damaged, according to the head of the emergency department at Nara Medical University.
Two neck wounds injured the artery in his neck and caused massive bleeding. Security guards jumped on the suspect after he was shot, and the man’s double-barreled device was found nearby.
The suspect is a former member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, having served three years in the 2000s.
He was rushed to a hospital
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was rushed to a hospital after being shot. The gunman has been identified as a Japanese man.
Police said the assassin used a handgun and was likely aiming for Shinzo Abe’s head. A video of the shooting shows a bullet striking the prime minister’s neck and clavicle.
Medics administered blood transfusions to Abe. The former prime minister’s wife Akie is currently at the hospital with the injured leader.
Abe was shot twice in the chest while campaigning for an upper house election in Nara. The former prime minister was unconscious and unresponsive.
The suspect, a 41-year-old man named Yamagami Tetsuya, was detained and remains in police custody. The surviving prime minister is believed to be in a critical condition.
Fire and disaster management agency officials confirmed that Mr. Abe had been shot twice and sustained “subcutaneous bleeding” under his left chest.
He was conscious when he was transported to a hospital, according to the national broadcaster NHK.
The shooting occurred at about 11:30 a.m. local time in the city of Nara, the capital city of Nara Prefecture. The public broadcaster NHK broadcasted footage of the incident, showing two apparent gunshots and a white plume of smoke behind Abe.
A second shooter positioned behind the prime minister had also been arrested. Abe was rushed to the hospital after the assassination.
According to NHK news, Shinzo Abe’s condition is critical. His condition was not immediately clear, but he is undergoing a blood transfusion. He was shot in the left chest and neck.
The suspect has been arrested, but he has been named as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old resident of Nara City. Yamagami is suspected of attempted murder.
The alleged gunman was an ex-military member and a former member of the maritime self-defense force.
He was a political blueblood
Shinzo Abe is a political blueblood. His grandfather, Nobusuke Kish, served as prime minister during World War II. Abe’s father, Shintaro, rose through the ranks to become foreign minister.
However, he never won the top job. Abe was groomed to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. His political rhetoric centered on strengthening Japan’s military and expanding its role in international affairs.
The murder of Shinzo Abe is a tragic case of political corruption and mismanagement. A former military general, Abe was groomed for the job and was a political blueblood.
Despite his polarizing image, Abe became the longest serving prime minister in Japanese history. He angered liberals at home and the victims of World War II in Asia. He also reviled history for its brutal past.
Abe reformed Japan’s economy and led efforts to take a more active role in the region. The tragedy comes at a time when Japan needs a political stable leader.
Abe is also famous for marrying a South Korean woman named Akie, daughter of a prominent businessman. She is well-known for her love for South Korean culture.
Her hand-in-hand walk with Abe during his early career was widely covered in Japanese media. Japanese politicians rarely walk hand-in-hand with their spouses.
Abe was one of the most popular politicians in the country.
As Prime Minister, Abe aims to continue the reforms that the LDP started during his term in office. His policies on economic reform were widely criticised and the prime minister was forced to reshuffle his cabinet.
But Abe’s success drew praise from conservatives. Abe’s ultra-nationalism angered the Koreans and Chinese. The push to reform the constitution was in his own personal history.
Abe’s grandfather despised the postwar U.S. constitution and its postwar constitution.
He pushed for normalization of Japan’s defense posture
Japan’s Constitution is a relic of the post-war American strategic manoeuvring, and Article 9 of the constitution binds the country to “renounce war as a sovereign right” and not maintain any armed forces.
The 1954 Self-Defence Forces Act paved the way for the JSDF, a military force in name only. Since then, however, various Japanese governments have sought to circumvent these constraints.
In the past five years, Abe’s government has pushed for reforms of Japan’s defense posture, including easing the decades-old arms export ban and allowing limited collective self-defense.
Such reforms have garnered international attention and sparked significant domestic and international controversy.
But despite the positives, the Abe administration’s security policy reforms are not without their flaws.
While Abe has embraced the principles of normalization, Japan’s policymakers must be cautious.
The Abe administration has also instituted reforms in its internal institutional framework. The establishment of Japan’s first National Security Council has transformed Japan’s decision-making on security policy.
The government has also increased its ability to read political winds and respond to security concerns. But it must be noted that these reforms are still under discussion.
But the benefits are too great to ignore. And the reforms should be viewed in the context of their political consequences.
Prime Minister Abe’s stance on normalizing Japan’s defense posture is not surprising. Abe is a political blue-blood and has been groomed to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps.
His political rhetoric revolved around making Japan a normal, beautiful nation, with a stronger military and a greater role in international affairs.
The broader aims of normalization, however, will not be achieved overnight.
