Assassination: Former Japan PM Shinzo Abe Shot Dead. Will Killing Push Japan Further to the Right?



Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died at the age of 67 after being fatally shot while delivering a speech Friday in the western city of Nara. Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan’s history, was campaigning for a parliamentary election Friday and had a security detail. Police arrested a 41-year-old suspect at the crime scene. We speak with Koichi Nakano, professor at Sophia University in Tokyo, who says the attack has “struck at the heart of the democratic process” and could very likely swing the Sunday election toward right-wing forces. Nakano also speaks on the life and legacy of Abe, who he says was a controversial figure in Japan despite being hailed as a hero of liberal democracy abroad.

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47 thoughts on “Assassination: Former Japan PM Shinzo Abe Shot Dead. Will Killing Push Japan Further to the Right?”

  1. If you literally interpret Article 9, Japan even has no right to self-defense. The clause was also enacted by the Occupation Forces in 1947. Apart from his corruption and thoughts, I agree with the constitutional amendment itself

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  2. The assassination of Abe is the biggest political incident in Japanese politics since the end of World War II and warned about ripple effects from the death of this controversial figure, who once contributed to China-Japan relations but later tore those achievements apart. The attacker has been arrested and the case is under investigation. According to Japanese media reports, the suspect is a 41-year-old man and the motive for the attack remains unclear. China was shocked by the attack. Abe once made contributions to improving Japan's ties with China but underpinned by mud of controversial act.

    Abe was a controversial political figure – he had improved Japan's relations with China, which is marked by two icebreaking trips during his second term in 2013 and 2018, yet his remarks and actions, including frequent visits to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine and denial of Japan's invasion history, led to his bad reputation among Chinese public. The first ice-breaking visit was made after Japan's ludicrous territorial claim over the Diaoyu Islands which dragged bilateral relations to abyss. His second ice-breaking visit to China was in October 2018, when he attended events marking the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship and a forum promoting infrastructure cooperation between companies of the two countries. In 2017, Abe publicly expressed willingness to cooperate with China on the Belt and Road Initiative and said he would not rule out joining the China-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

    Abe, who had already left the post of prime minister, falsely claimed that "a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency," a serious violation and provocation against the one-China principle, not to mention his frequent visits and tributes to the Yasukuni Shrine.Those wrong words and deeds after Abe stepped down almost completely overturned the achievements he once made in underpinning China-Japan ties. , Many described Abe as an "actor."

    Abe, when in office, had to consider ties with China, particularly the economic facet, because that will bring benefits to Japan. No matter what purpose he had, the contributions he made to China-Japan ties were remembered.But Lü pointed out that Abe did not recognize Japan's war crimes. That's why Abe spoke his mind after stepping down and acted unscrupulously over the Taiwan question. On top of his contributions and wrongdoings, analysts believe that Abe was one of the most irreplaceable figures in Japanese politics this century.

    ,Abe's death could ripple through Japanese politics and the international community, experts said. The Japanese right-wing forces may use this incident to push forward the trend of conservative transformation in Japanese politics, and Abe's supporters will continue to promote "free and open Indo-Pacific" and his other policies, bringing more security risks to Northeast Asia, according to analysts.

    Given that the shooting comes at a sensitive time ahead of the upper house election, political motives could not be ruled out.Although Abe has been the longest-serving prime minister in Japan, there are mixed opinions on Abe in Japan, and anti-Abe public opinions have always existed, including dissatisfaction with the widening gap between the rich and the poor caused by Abenomics, and disgust with his forced adjustment of military and security policies,

    Japan is facing multiple problems such as the depreciation of the yen, inflation, unemployment and the rebound of the epidemic, which all require the Japanese government to take effective measures. Instead of responding to people's anxiety and dissatisfaction, Japanese politicians are constantly hyping threats of neighboring countries, deflecting the attention of the public and stressing the need to strengthen the military.

    As the leader of Japan's largest political faction, Abe has long wielded a lot of influence in the country's domestic and foreign affairs, noting that Japan's opposition is too loose to balance the LDP's policies.Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the criminal suspect was strongly dissatisfied with the policies of the Japanese government under the "de facto control of Abe," as there's no way to change the status quo, so he picked an extreme way,Stimulation to the right wing

    Although the attacker's political leanings have yet to be officially confirmed, Chinese experts said it is almost certain that Abe's death will not stop the conservative trend in Japanese politics as a whole, but may strengthen it to some extent. Abe has served as Japanese prime minister twice, from 2006 to 2007 and from late 2012 to 2020, making him the longest-serving prime minister under Japan's modern cabinet system. After stepping down for health reasons, Abe has continued to play a major role in Japanese politics as a member of the House of Representatives.

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  3. He was a right winger also made deals with right winger Trump also Republicans he was a war criminal also regressive conservative also he lifted gun restrictions also lifted self defense guns like the Republicans in America no different he also allowed people to buy guns easily more gun criminals grew right wingers

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  4. L'Assassinat de ShinZo Abe est un Acte Populaire. L'auteur de l'assassinat, un ancien officier de l'armée, vient du Peuple. Reconnaissant les faits accomplis l'auteur n'a pas cherché à fuir. Contraire à la tentative d'assassinat de Adolf Hitler du 20 juillet 1944 par le Colonel Stauffenberg, cet acte isolé de dénazification a bien réussi. On verra si cet acte changera le cours de l'histoire du Japon. Né dans une famille de renom de réputation Nazie ShinZo Abe est un Nazi reconnu de la troisième génération. Premier ministre pendant une dizaine d'années ShinZo Abe a imposé ses mesures au Peuple du Japon et contre le Peuple du Japon, ce qui conduit à la vengeance du Peuple du Japon à son égard.

    The Assassination of ShinZo Abe is a Popular Act. The author of the assassination, a former army officer, comes from the People. Acknowledging the fait accompli, the author did not seek to flee. Unlike the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler on July 20'th 1944 by Colonel Stauffenberg, this isolated act of denazification was successful. We will see if this act will change the course of Japan's history. Born in a renowned Family of Nazi reputation ShinZo Abe is a recognized Nazi of the third generation. Prime Minister for a decade ShinZo Abe imposed his measures on the People of Japan and against the People of Japan, which leads to the revenge of the People of Japan against him.!!

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  5. All the comments are Chinese bots, article 9 is why China is where it is now. The Japanese are our shield in the east, if you take that away we are screwed.

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  6. I think that if they were able to take care of the gunman by hand without the use of guns, proves that any gun control the US has tried to implement just will never work. You have to go all out with gun control otherwise it will never work. the materials he was able to scrounge up to make a weapon of his own, prevented him from taking more than two shots. I think it's stupid to ask if this is going to push Japanese people further to the right, because if we're talking about the Right In America which are pro-gun, you have to understand the mentality of Japanese are 100% different than americans. And it's obvious that the less guns that you have the less likely this type of crime can happen. You don't have the same traumatized state of Americans as you do in Japan, because in America people have embraced something that they have feared for a long time in order to make it seem less threatening. The psychology of Americans is messed up at this point concerning this. And it was only a matter of time until I would actually start seeing stupid people on the internet try to suggest that Japan should become a gun wielding country. A gun simply made it easier for someone else to be killed so why should we have them? Many people don't know anything about Japan and I'm only waiting for more ignorant comments and news broadcasts trying to say that there should be a push. Stop imposing things on Japan from your Western mentality.

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  7. He was far right wing and grand son of WW2 class A war criminal who refused to make a full apology to victims. He screwed up Japanese economy with his foolish policies and stole money from tax payers. For example, Abe won Tokyo Olympics then contracted paper box bed to his brother's company for $2200 each, gave used school property for almost nothing to his friend and used government fund to treat his supporters. He used sudden sickness as excuse twice to quit as prime minister when he was in hot seat for embezzlement and not able to handle COVID. Abe gave prayers every year to Japanese class A war criminals and changed school textbooks that Japan was victim of the West and nuclear bombs by the US. Let's not sugar coat this and look at him for facts that he was no angel.

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  8. Prime Minister Abe family were Nazi collaborators and he was am imperialist backed by right wing fascist in the US government. He was funded and installed by CIA types. The man that took his life did the world a favor.

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  9. %~#@~!~~~~The Japanese have yet to sincerely apologize for the heinous crimes committed in World War II, denying the Nanjing Massacre, denying the issue of comfort women, denying the 731 unit that conducted human experiments,Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine dedicated to World War II war criminals who bombed Pearl Harbor in the United States, Shinzo Abe is the representative of Japanese militarism, this man should be damned

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  10. Japan has few gun deaths but they also have little to no cultural diversity and far less immigration. Does that mean immigrants bring crime to the States ? No. The problem in the states is, there is no unity.

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  11. Shinzo Abe was part of an influencial group who wants to return Japan back to its former WW2 Fascist past

    The Nippon Kaigi is Japan’s largest ultra-conservative ultranationalist and reactionary non-governmental organization and lobby

    Abe's grandfather was a war criminal who supported the Nazis and worked enslaved Chinese labourers to death for a profit…These Class A War crimes were forgiveable by the post war / cold war US government, who freed him and allowed him to go become Prime minister of Japan in 1957.

    Japan's war crimes were horrific, similar in nature the Nazis … Nippon Kaigi engage in historical revisionism with the aim to clear Japan of its WW2 war crimes and view it as a force for good and a desire to restore the imperial family

    Many of Japan's recently re-elected LDP are members of NK… they have vowed to carry on his legacy, by indoctrination in schools and to bring back the glory days of a militarised Fascist Japan

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  12. Anyone can make a slamfire shotgun at home or, if you have some money, print a 3D gun. Japan's mistake was thinking their laws against gun ownership meant something like this could not happen. Clearly the security they had in place for a former PM was completely inadequate, even if it was the highest level of security they have there.

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  13. How can he be such a "controversial figure" if his party might get a super majority? Obviously he is much more liked by Japanese people than any of the American presidents recently. Sure liberal ("left") media didn't like him, and China really hated him, but that's another reason to ask some questions. In retrospect it was the right choice that he supported the continuation of nuclear power even after Fukushima. Just look at the deep shit in which Germany now finds itself, closing down nuclear power plants and possibly getting the gas spigot being shut by Russia.

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  14. Japanese former PM Shinzo Abe is not a decent man, he’s a sinner.

    Abe is the grand kid of Japanese Class A war criminal in WWII, he endeavored to downplay the war crimes committed by Japan on Asian countries, especially brutally committed genocide on Chinese people. Japan never officially admitted or apologized their war atrocity against humanity. Abe is one of the main characters who pushed to deny and legitimize japan’s war crimes.

    The reason most Americans and the west have no adequate knowledge with Asian side of history in WWII is because US traded Japan’s surrender with getting all the intelligence materials of Unit 731, which performed bio and chemical weapons onto the live Chinese people, it is crimes against humanity, but since US obtained the knowledge and materials from Japan, Japanese war criminals were pardoned and continued to live a comfortable life without being brought to justice.

    Abe was an active supporter and gatekeeper of Japan’s old glory of imperial militarism aggression, before his death, he has been very active in reviving Japan military power, and been exploiting US anti China campaign to create fear and loathing toward China, in hopes to pass bigger military budget, same trick as US defense department and MICC are doing to American people, to create imaginary big bad wolves, so the government can protect the American people by bigger military budget.

    This is why most people from these countries who were victims of Japan’s atrocity don’t feel bad for his death.

    It’s like you expect Jewish people to feel bad for the death of Hitler’s grand kids who endeavored to promote Hitler’s legacy…?

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  15. There's no further right for Japan to go.

    They're already super racist; their treatment of First Nations for example, makes my country look good.

    They have such a raging boner for assimilation, that most Ainu never LEARN that they're Ainu.

    They never demilitarised; they just increased the Tokyo police force by 100,000 and CALLED it demilitarisation.

    War crime denial never fell out of fashion. In my country, neighbourhoods with large Korean communities have shrines to comfort women; they're routinely vandalised by Japanese tourists.

    In every such case, Tokyo ridiculously blames "anti-Japanese violence" in said community (like any of THEM would move next door to a Korean).

    The Fukuda faction – the political, intellectual and (in Abes case) phylogenic inheritors of Nobusuke Kishi – have dominated essentially every aspect of Japanese society (politics, finance, education, culture, etc.) since at least the Second Sino-Japanese War.

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  16. This is a very good example of something that occurs often on this show, where the interview subject saves the interview from the interviewer. I thought some of Amy's questions were very awkward and ill-considered. First, she highlights the assassin's previous background as part of the maritime forces of Japan, apparently wishing to draw Nakano into idle speculation on the killer's motives, perhaps even hinting that he may have been a right-wing militarist fanatic… which doesn't make sense, because Abe himself was a right-wing militarist. (Nakano wisely doesn't take the bait.) Then she naively claims that Abe stepped down twice as prime minister "for health reasons," though this was clearly only a pretext in both cases. (Abe's administration was rife with corruption scandals.) When she brings up the nuclear issue, she points out, totally irrelevantly, that the doctor who treated the fatally-wounded Abe was named Fukushima. (It's not an uncommon surname in Japan, Amy.) Only when Amy asks Nakano about his own article ("The Leader Who Was 'Trump before Trump'") does the interview get back on track. Amy needs to do more work on phrasing and editing her questions, IMO.

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