He wasn’t even trying to hide. “Photos that began circulating after the attack show the suspect standing just behind Abe as the latter gave his speech”reports the BBC. In a country where gun attacks are rare, security around the former prime minister was low-key.
The suspect, “a dry, nervous man, wearing glasses and beige cargo pants, crossed the street”recount Japan Today. “Then he opened fire with a homemade weapon, which appeared to be wrapped in black duct tape, and a cloud of white smoke descended on Abe and the crowd”.
After the second shot, “members of the security [de l’ancien Premier ministre] threw themselves on Yamagami and tackled him to the ground”, adds the site. The shooter was immediately arrested, and offered no resistance.
Shinzo Abe, who reportedly remained conscious for minutes after the attack, succumbed to his injuries in hospital hours later, despite efforts “of a medical team of twenty people, who failed to stop the bleeding”reports CNN. The former prime minister was shot in the neck and chest, “where the bullet penetrated so deeply that it struck the heart”explained the doctors.
All eyes are now on the mysterious shooter, a 41-year-old Nara resident who found Shinzo Abe’s campaign itinerary online. Still very influential within the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), the former Prime Minister had come to support the local candidate before the senatorial elections on 10th July.
“Incoherent”
The police confirmed that Tetsuya Yamagami had been a member of the Japanese navy for three years (2002-2005), without specifying the reasons for his departure. According Kyodo Newshe would also have “worked in a factory in the Kansai region [qui englobe Nara, Osaka, et Kyoto] since fall 2020, before resigning last May”. He had since been unemployed.
Investigators have also lifted some of the veil on Yamagami’s motives. “The suspect explained that he had a grudge against a certain organization, which he believed the former prime minister to be part of”reports the NHK. The shooter’s mother “was very involved in this organization, to which she had given a lot of money” – a source of “big problems for the family”adds Japanese public television.
The police gave no details about this mysterious organization, but according to the English edition of the Japanese daily Mainichi Shinbun, “the suspect mentioned, during his interrogation, the name of a religious group”. The newspaper notes, however, that Yamagami “made inconsistent statements” and that investigators are trying to determine if he is “mentally fit to be held criminally responsible”.
“The confession remains fraught with mystery but Japan is no less shocked”remarks the correspondent of the Temps in Japan. “The site of the assassination, near Yamato-Saidaiji station, sees people marching past to pay their respects to Shinzo Abe. They leave flowers, drinks or fruit”testifies the journalist
In his editorial, the Japan Times echoes the amazement and anger of the country: “The attempt by any individual or group to impose their will on the country by violent means is terrorism plain and simple. This is unacceptable, and must be condemned by all of us – regardless of any political affiliation or inclination”.