# Breaking: Former Japanese PM Abe assassination attempt (2022-07-07) Update: Abe has died (2022-07-08) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [July 8, 2022, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596 "2022-07-08T03:10:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/1 "2022-07-08T03:10:50Z")
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. > **[Japan ex PM Shinzo Abe shot at during campaign speech, wounded](https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/japan-ex-pm-shinzo-abe-collapses-in-nara-shots-heard-report-101657248658413.html)** > > Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Abe was found bleeding after he collapsed while campaigning in city of Nara. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-08/former-japan-pm-abe-collapses-after-shots-heard-man-in-custody](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-08/former-japan-pm-abe-collapses-after-shots-heard-man-in-custody) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/2 "2022-07-08T03:20:47Z")
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. > **[Japan Ex PM Shinzo Abe In "Very Grave Condition" After Shooting: 10 Facts](https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/former-japan-pm-shinzo-abe-shot-at-suspect-detained-news-agency-reuters-quoting-local-reports-3138447)** > > Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was feared dead on Friday after being shot twice at a campaign event in the Nara region. He was "showing no vital signs" when he was taken to hospital, said reports. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/3 "2022-07-08T03:23:15Z")
Stupid. It only justifies further repression, and there’s always another asshole ready to fill his place. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/4 "2022-07-08T03:27:32Z")
He wasn’t in office. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/5 "2022-07-08T03:29:42Z")
I headed over to start a thread, too. Shinzo Abe, former Japanese leader, is shot at campaign event > **[Japan reels after assassination of Shinzo Abe, as investigation into gunman,...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/07/japan-shinzo-abe-shot-nara-attack/)** > > The 67-year-old was shot while speaking at a campaign event in Nara, shocking a nation where gun violence is rare. > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/6 "2022-07-08T03:32:12Z")
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. > **[Assassination of Inejirō Asanuma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Inejir%C5%8D_Asanuma)** > > On 12 October 1960, Inejirō Asanuma (浅沼 稲次郎, Asanuma Inejirō), chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, was assassinated at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo. During a televised debate, a 17-year-old right-wing ultranationalist named Otoya Yamaguchi charged onto the stage and fatally stabbed Asanuma with a wakizashi, a type of traditional short sword. > The assassination weakened the Japan Socialist Party, inspired a series of copycat crimes, and made Yamaguchi an enduring hero and subsequently a martyr t... ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/7 "2022-07-08T03:34:50Z")
He made it. > ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/8 "2022-07-08T03:40:26Z")
See also > [@Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe assassinated](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassination-attempt/967598): > > Not too many details, many reports saying no vital signs. Someone is in custody Why? Japan definitely isn’t known for gun violence and he’s not in office. No idea what to think right now. Mods, I put this in P&E to reach an audience that would find it more relevant and it was at a campaign event. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/9 "2022-07-08T03:41:17Z")
You mean to say he made the gun himself? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/10 "2022-07-08T03:42:36Z")
Yes asdf ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/11 "2022-07-08T03:46:04Z")
It’s now being reported that the shooter is a 42-year-old Nara native named Tetsuya Yamagami. > **[Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assassinated](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/07/08/national/shinzo-abe-dead-nara-shooting/)** > > A suspect was arrested after Abe, one of the most consequential leaders in Japan’s postwar history, was shot while campaigning in the city of Nara on Friday. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/12 "2022-07-08T03:52:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > 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. I predict that this incident will rapidly be pointed to by conservatives as evidence that gun control does not work. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/13 "2022-07-08T03:52:18Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/14 "2022-07-08T03:55:38Z")
It looks to have been a homemade sawn-off shotgun-type of weapon. Japan has very strict gun laws. > [@](#): > > Japan, a country of 127 million people and yearly gun deaths rarely totaling more than 10… > **[Japan has almost completely eliminated gun deaths — here's how](https://www.businessinsider.com/gun-control-how-japan-has-almost-completely-eliminated-gun-deaths-2017-10?r=US&IR=T)** > > A recent spate of mass shootings has prompted renewed calls for gun control in the US. Japan may offer some insight into preventing future attacks. [Pictures of weapon (and suspect)](https://twitter.com/jamesstout/status/1545249861330604032) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/15 "2022-07-08T04:07:32Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > It only justifies further repression What repression? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/16 "2022-07-08T04:09:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/17 "2022-07-08T04:09:58Z")
I’ve already violated board policy with opinion in a breaking news thread. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/18 "2022-07-08T04:29:28Z")
The Chief Cabinet Secretary (essentially a beefed-up Vice President and Press Secretary equivalent) says Abe’s condition is “not currently known”. > **[Former Japanese premier Abe shot, govt spokesperson says](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/former-japanese-premier-abe-shot-govt-spokesperson-says-2022-07-08/)** > > Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot at about 11:30 a.m. in the prefecture of Nara, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Friday. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/19 "2022-07-08T04:35:43Z")
People really need to stop thinking strict firearm laws= No civilian ownership. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/20 "2022-07-08T04:43:31Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > He wasn’t in office. 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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596.md?page=2)