A male attacker has been apprehended after shooting Shinzo Abe just minutes ago while he was giving a speech in the city of Nara. Abe was apparently hit in the chest, is unconscious, and may be near death.
Thanks for starting this thread. I was about to start one on P&E when I saw this one.
I saw a reference to it on another board, and confirmed it via multiple sources. It finally got on CNN Breaking News a few minutes ago.
Stupid. It only justifies further repression, and there’s always another asshole ready to fill his place.
He wasn’t in office.
I headed over to start a thread, too.
Shinzo Abe, former Japanese leader, is shot at campaign event
Party officials cited in Japanese media said Abe is unconscious. He was giving a speech in Nara to support a campaigner, according to NHK.
A short time later, the broadcaster reported that Abe was showing no vital signs. At least two gunshots were heard on-site.
This is incredibly shocking.
The latest I’m reading is that he was shot from behind with a shotgun. Shotguns are the only type of firearm legal for civilian ownership in Japan but they’re strictly regulated, and buying one involves a comprehensive background check, passing a test, and routine police inspections, so how the shooter got the gun is definitely going to be a topic of interest. The only other notable assassination in modern Japanese history that I can think of was carried out with a sword.
He made it.
See also
You mean to say he made the gun himself?
Yes
asdf
It’s now being reported that the shooter is a 42-year-old Nara native named Tetsuya Yamagami.
I predict that this incident will rapidly be pointed to by conservatives as evidence that gun control does not work.
I admit to being rather ignorant regarding current Japanese politics. Is there a clear reason someone would want to kill him?
I’m seeing a report the gunman has been apprehended and is a 42yo male.
It looks to have been a homemade sawn-off shotgun-type of weapon.
Japan has very strict gun laws.
What repression?
From video of the incident, the shot comes from out of view of the camera, so it must be from at least several meters away. There’s a puff of smoke, like someone’s fired an old musket. There’s no obvious sign of Abe being hit, although the camera then dips down so he’s out of view.
There’s also a photo of him lying on the ground on his back with some blood on his shirt.
I’ve already violated board policy with opinion in a breaking news thread.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary (essentially a beefed-up Vice President and Press Secretary equivalent) says Abe’s condition is “not currently known”.
People really need to stop thinking strict firearm laws= No civilian ownership.
He had a long term of office and was effective in making changes to the country’s economics (hence the rubric “Abe-nomics” that was common during his term - note that the name is pronounced in two syllables, like Ah-beh), so there is a good chance that he was still pulling some strings behind the scenes as a power broker. Of course, this may well have nothing to do with the motivation for the (still attempted?) assassination.