Interrupted conversation. Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe killed

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a near-death experience. This is reported by TASS with reference to the emergency services of the Nara prefecture fire department, where the politician’s attempt took place.

“Yes, in cardiac and lung arrest, but death not confirmed. A call came in that there was a shooting at emergency number 119,” he said.

After Abe was hospitalized, a department spokesperson said.

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assassination attempt

On the morning of July 8, at 11:50 am local time (5:50 Moscow time), Shinzo Abe spoke on the street in the city of Nara as part of his election campaign. On Sunday, Japan will hold elections for the Emperor’s Councilors, which the former prime minister will run for.

While Abe was giving a speech, two gunshots were heard – a local resident, Tetsuya Yamagami, shot the politician in the back. Footage captured on video transmits kyodo

Recordings from the scene show Abe continuing to stand for several seconds. This indicates that the attacker is using a good shot. He fired a homemade, double-barreled, sawn-out shotgun tied with black tape and a garbage bag.

All that is known about Tetsuya Yamagami so far is that he previously served in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The attacker’s motive is still unknown, but he told police he was “not happy” with the politician and “wanted to kill him”. Yamagami was detained by security and police officers at the scene of the assassination.

The injured Abe was rushed to Nara University Hospital. There were bloodstains on his white shirt.

City

Shinzo Abe’s speech was held in Nara, the ancient capital of Japan, now the center of Japanese Buddhism.

In the Middle Ages, Nara was known as “the haunt of stubborn aristocrats and samurai.”

Now Nara is a tourist destination that attracts travelers with its pagodas, temples and parks. Primary school children also often go on excursions there.

The choice of the emperor’s advisers

A crisis center was urgently created in the government against the backdrop of the assassination attempt, and current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida immediately arrived in Tokyo. To do this, he interrupted his own campaign trip in the north-east of the country.

Japan will hold elections for the Emperor’s Councilors, the upper house of the national parliament, on Sunday. 74 council members will be elected from 45 provincial constituencies.

Foundation reaction

Some politicians have called for the July 10 parliamentary elections to be canceled in connection with the assassination attempt on Shinzo Abe, TASS reported.

“We are shocked, outraged and strongly condemn what happened,” said Hirokazu Matsuno, Secretary General of the Japan Cabinet.

“I’m watching TV, it’s terrible. It is impossible to imagine being shot. “I hope he recovers quickly,” said Junichiro Koizumi, another former prime minister.

All major Japanese parties formally condemned the assassination attempt. The main opposition party, the Constitutional Democrats, demanded the annulment of the elections.

Rahm Emmanuel, the US Ambassador to Tokyo, also reacted to the assassination attempt. “We are all saddened and shocked by the assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The US government and the American people are praying for the well-being of Mr. Abe, his family and the Japanese people,” he said.

Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin described the assassination attempt as “barbaric”. “Prayer for health <...> Mr. Shinzo Abe. “We strongly condemn any attempt at barbaric life,” said the diplomat.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has already “expressed his condolences to his colleague” regarding the incident. “I don’t know what’s behind this assassination attempt. I learned about it at the G20 meeting. In general, I was the first to start my speech by expressing my condolences in connection with what happened to my Japanese colleague,” he said.

abenomic

Shinzo Abe was Prime Minister of Japan twice, in 2006-2007 and 2012-2020. He retired due to chronic illness. He turned 67 last September. Abe has long led the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The policy he followed was called “Abenomics”. The main method was the artificial devaluation of the yen, doubling the money supply in the country. In the press, it was compared to the policy of the 40th US President Ronald Reagan – “Reaganomics”.

Nobel laureate in economics Joseph Stiglitz praised Abe’s reform in April 2013: “Overall, there is no doubt that Abenomics will work: the country has low inequality, strong institutions, a highly educated workforce with excellent technical skills and a sense of beauty, and many of the world’s It is located in a fast-developing region. Japan should be a beacon of light in the dreary field of the global economy.”

Abe was also accused of “taking nothing while the rich get richer under him”.

Meetings with Putin

Shinzo Abe made ten official visits to Russia and had nearly thirty meetings with President Vladimir Putin. As RIA Novosti reported, Abe “had a reputation as the most pro-Russian Japanese leader in history.”

As prime minister, Abe has made it clear many times that he aims to resolve the territorial dispute with Russia over the ownership of the islands in the South Kuril chain. Moscow considers these regions a legal part of the Russian Federation. No peace treaty has been signed between Moscow and Tokyo since the end of World War II.

In 2018, Putin expressed his readiness to sign a peace deal without any preconditions, but Abe did not respond to that offer. At the same time, for humanitarian reasons, the Japanese were allowed to visit the Kuril Islands without a visa.

Under Abe, Tokyo insisted on the creation of a special system of law and administration of the South Kuril Islands, but the Russian authorities refused. “It is extremely painful to realize that I left without resolving issues, including without signing a peace treaty with Russia,” said the former Japanese prime minister himself.