Japan Mourns as Body of Assassinated PM Abe Returns to Tokyo

He has been identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, and police said Friday he admitted targeting Abe over a grudge against an organization he believed the former leader was linked to.

They have declined to name the organization, though several Japanese media outlets described it as a religious group.

The gun he used “is clearly handmade in appearance”, investigators said, and several other apparently handmade weapons were uncovered by police in protective gear who raided Yamagami’s home on Friday.

The suspect, who has been arrested on suspicion of murder, opened fire on Abe shortly before noon on Friday.

Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed Yamagami, dressed in a grey shirt and brown trousers, approaching from behind before drawing a weapon from a bag.

At least two shots appeared to be fired, each producing a cloud of smoke. As spectators and reporters ducked, he was tackled to the ground by security.

A large bang

“The first shot sounded like a toy bazooka,” a woman at the scene told NHK.

“He didn’t fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke.”

By Friday night, a steady stream of mourners came to lay flowers and pray for their former leader, a man who was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister and easily the country’s most recognizable politician.

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“I just couldn’t sit back and do nothing. I had to come,” said Nara resident Sachie Nagafuji, 54, visiting the scene with his son.

Officials said there had been no threats made against Abe, who was stumping for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party when he was shot.

The LDP and other parties said they would resume campaigning Saturday ahead of Sunday’s vote, in which they and coalition partner Komeito are expected to cement their majority in parliament.

Abe was the scion of a political family and became the country’s youngest post-war prime minister when he took power for the first time in 2006, aged 52.

His turbulent first term ended in his resignation for health reasons, but he returned to power in 2012 and stayed in office until the return of his ulcerative colitis forced the second resignation in 2020.

His hawkish, nationalist views were divisive, particularly his desire to reform the country’s pacifist constitution to recognize the country’s military, and he weathered a series of scandals, including allegations of cronyism.

But he was lauded by others for his economic strategy, dubbed “Abenomics” and his efforts to put Japan firmly on the world stage, including by cultivating close ties with US president Donald Trump.

Source: Agence France-Presse