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Former Japanese Prime Minister shot at campaign rally

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ASPartOfMe
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07 Jul 2022, 11:29 pm

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gravely injured in apparent shooting

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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and gravely injured while campaigning Friday in southern Japan, officials said.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was giving a speech in the city of Nara when gunfire was heard around 11:30 a.m. (10:30 p.m. Thursday ET). Public broadcaster NHK, citing the local fire department, reported that Abe was in a state of “cardiopulmonary arrest,” suggesting that he had no pulse.

It said he had been admitted to Nara Medical University Hospital.

In brief on-camera remarks, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Abe’s condition remained “unknown” and that one person had been apprehended in relation to the shooting.

Elections for the upper house of the Japanese Parliament are Sunday. Abe, 67, who stepped down in 2020, was campaigning for other members of the governing conservative Liberal Democratic Party but is not a candidate himself.

Gun violence is extremely rare in Japan, where handguns are banned and people must undergo extensive tests, training and background checks to obtain and keep shotguns and air rifles.

Abe hails from Japan’s political elite and as prime minister had made reviving economic growth through his “Abenomics” policies a key pillar of his time in office.

Though Abe had been praised for amplifying Japan’s profile, his party was plagued by scandals and he was accused of mishandling the country’s pandemic response.

Abe’s resignation two years ago came amid a worsening of his ulcerative colitis, a chronic bowel condition he’d battled for years.


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07 Jul 2022, 11:30 pm

I wonder if this is mob related or something else.


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07 Jul 2022, 11:50 pm

Just crazy ... Abe is arguably the most recognizable politician of this century in Japan. He was the country's longest continuously serving prime minister. Especially shocking considering that gun violence in Japan is extremely rare.

Wishing he will make it through this, but it seems like there's a significant possibility he will not.



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08 Jul 2022, 12:09 am

1986 wrote:
Just crazy ... Abe is arguably the most recognizable politician of this century in Japan. He was the country's longest continuously serving prime minister. Especially shocking considering that gun violence in Japan is extremely rare.

Wishing he will make it through this, but it seems like there's a significant possibility he will not.


Any discussion of motives or even speculation over responsibility?


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1986
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08 Jul 2022, 12:17 am

They've arrested the gunman and released his name (Yamagami Tetsuya). What we know so far is that he used to be with the Maritime Self-Defense Force and has a knowledge of guns.



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08 Jul 2022, 12:20 am

I always though of Japan as peaceful.
:(
Sorry this happened.


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1986
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08 Jul 2022, 1:03 am

The current prime minister Kishida just finished a press conference. At the moment he cannot give a definitive answer on Abe's condition, except that Abe is receiving emergency aid and that they are trying their very best to save his life. It's also too early to speculate on the motives of the gunman, or the level of protection surrounding Abe at the site. It's just two days until the House of Councillors election, so it's fair to say this is an attack on democracy in Japan.

The police has quoted the suspect as having "aimed to kill", but otherwise the connection between him and Abe is unclear.



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08 Jul 2022, 2:52 am

On the news here they said Abe was airlifted to hospital with "no signs of life". Doesn't bode well, but at least they haven't said that he has died so far. Hope he pulls through.


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1986
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08 Jul 2022, 3:05 am

There's a lot of information going around, but it seems there were two gunshots from something that seems like a homemade shotgun. The first shot almost certainly missed but the second hit, and Abe is seriously wounded in the neck and the chest. He's currently in the ICU. When there was an initial announcement of "cardiopulmonary arrest" it usually means the victim is only awaiting a doctor to confirm the death, but given the new information it seems Abe is still alive, although in a very serious condition. His wife has just arrived at the hospital.

The suspect looked calm on videos from just before the attack, applauding Abe as he was making his speech. It's too early to tell whether he acted on his own or not, and as far as motive goes, he has been quoted as having experienced "dissatisfaction" with Abe.



1986
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08 Jul 2022, 3:54 am

Sadly, he didn't make it. Ex-PM Abe has died.



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08 Jul 2022, 6:13 am

I always thought Japan was one of the safest countries on earth, sad to hear this.



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08 Jul 2022, 6:35 am

Explosives found at shooting suspect's home - reports

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Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died in hospital after he was shot at a political campaign event.
Mr Abe was shot at twice while he was giving a speech in the southern city of Nara on Friday morning.

A search of the alleged gunman's home uncovered what police believe are explosives, local media reported.

During a news conference at Nara Medical University Hospital, doctors said Mr Abe had sustained two bullet wounds to his neck, about 5cm (1inch) apart, and also suffered damage to his heart.

Mr Abe was said to be conscious and responsive in the minutes after the attack, but the 67-year-old's condition later deteriorated.

Doctors said no vital signs were detected by the time the former prime minister was transferred for treatment and he had to receive a blood transfusion in hospital.

Eyewitnesses said they saw a man carrying what they described as a large gun and firing twice at Mr Abe from behind.

Mr Abe did have a team of security police with him. But it appears the shooter was still able to get to within a few metres of Mr Abe without any sort of check, or barrier.

Security officers detained the attacker, who made no attempt to run, and seized his weapon which was reportedly a handmade gun.

Officials have yet to comment on the suspect's motives, but local media outlets reported that Mr Yamagami told police he was "dissatisfied with former Prime Minister Abe and aimed to kill him". He is also reported to have told offices that did not hold a "grudge against the former Prime Minister's political beliefs".

Police also discovered several possible explosive devices during a search of his home, and NHK said bomb disposal technicians are preparing to carry out a controlled explosion on the premises.

Mr Abe's speech came as part of a campaign for his former party, the Liberal Democratic Party, as upper house elections in Japan are due to take place later this week.


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08 Jul 2022, 8:04 am

His motives will be of a lot of interest. Home made gun supposedly so it looks like a commited and angry individual done it.



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09 Jul 2022, 12:58 am

When former Indian prime minister Rajiv Ghandi (son of the famous Indira Ghandi) was assassinated during an election campaign it hardly raised a ripple in the western press.

Shnito Abe was running for re-election to be prime minister in a 1st world developed country (and one of the safest) so the general feeling now is no politician is safe
https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/le ... acdf5bdcb7



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09 Jul 2022, 1:56 am

So I'll be the first to point out the dude was practically a nazi. Look into it yourself. His politics were beyond sh--ty and went straight into harmful. I won't miss him.



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09 Jul 2022, 4:26 am

Kerch wrote:
So I'll be the first to point out the dude was practically a nazi. Look into it yourself. His politics were beyond sh--ty and went straight into harmful. I won't miss him.

Not the assassin, but the victim?

Abe was practically a Nazi?

How so?
=============
Just now "Wiki'd" Abe. Apparently, he favored the belief that Japanese history textbooks in public schools should ...gloss over...Japanese atrocities in WWII, and gloss over Japan's aggression. That was a factor in his fall from power, because it made him unpopular. So that must be what you're talking about. So yes...he was the equivalent of a modern German politician being 'less anti Nazi' than one would like.



Last edited by naturalplastic on 09 Jul 2022, 5:12 am, edited 1 time in total.