# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/41 "2022-07-08T14:06:53Z")
I didn’t realize he still had a position in government. I’ve read so much about Japan’s clean streets, politeness and low crime. Mental illness can still strike anywhere. ---
**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, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/42 "2022-07-08T14:25:28Z")
[CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/shinzo-abe-japan-pm-collapses-nara-07-08-22-intl-hnk/h_f135710e67a70a3704f774a693715eb2): > [@](#): > > According to Nara-nishi police, Yamagami Tetsuya, a 41-year-old unemployed man, said he holds hatred toward a certain group, which he thought Abe was linked to. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/43 "2022-07-08T14:50:19Z")
CNN needs to wake up this morning. See if you can find what is wrong with their lede: _Abe was shot dead on Friday in the city of Nara while delivering a campaign speech and remains in critical condition undergoing emergency treatment, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said._ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/44 "2022-07-08T14:52:42Z")
Sounds like someone was told “change it to lead with that he’s dead” and did exactly and absolutely only that. ---
**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, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/45 "2022-07-08T14:55:53Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I recall that Abe was quite the Elvis fan. Actually, I recalled that, too. But googling revealed that it is Junichiro Koizumi that is the Elvis fan. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/46 "2022-07-08T15:05:05Z")
He may very well have been _mostly dead_ at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/47 "2022-07-08T15:35:58Z")
Schrödinger’s former PM? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/48 "2022-07-08T16:20:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > [@Moriarty](#): > > > > I recall that Abe was quite the Elvis fan. > > Actually, I recalled that, too. But googling revealed that it is Junichiro Koizumi that is the Elvis fan. Oops. Well, I still hope Abe got to see a movie about something he liked before he died. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/49 "2022-07-08T16:27:23Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Speaking of swords, there is also the case of Yukio Mishima. He was a well known writer who tried to stage a coup in 1970, he wanted Imperial rule reinstated. The coup failed and Mishima committed seppuku. I was thinking of that too. The curious cinephile who doesn’t mind subtitles or a touch of the avant garde might consider: Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LzaXtBr5210/maxresdefault.jpg "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzaXtBr5210) That’s right, folks. Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas Present. With a soundtrack by Phillip Glass. About a Japanese novelist who led a… four-man coup with a samurai sword? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/50 "2022-07-08T16:27:30Z")
2nd Abe shot in a century. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/51 "2022-07-08T17:15:06Z")
The assassin probably won’t have to commit seppuku. (OK, he won’t have a sword. But anyway…) > **[Capital punishment in Japan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Japan)** > > Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Japan. In practice, it is applied only for aggravated murder, but the current Penal Code and several laws list 14 capital crimes, including conspiracy to commit civil war; conspiracy with a foreign power to provoke war against Japan; murder; obstruction of the operation of railroads, ships, or airplanes resulting in the death of the victim; poisoning of the water supply resulting in the death of the victim; intentional flooding; use of a bomb; and arson ... > When the death warrant has been signed, the condemned prisoner is informed on the morning of their execution. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/52 "2022-07-08T18:54:45Z")
It was only four years ago that the leader of Aum Shinrikyo was executed. ---
**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, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/53 "2022-07-08T19:41:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 2nd Abe shot in a century. I wonder what you can mean by this observation? Nothing I can think of makes any sense at all. ---
**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, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/54 "2022-07-08T19:42:53Z")
Referencing Abe Lincoln? But he died more than 100 years ago ---
**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, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/55 "2022-07-08T19:44:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The assassin probably won’t have to commit seppuku. (OK, he won’t have a sword. But anyway…) My understanding is that traditionally, people who were executed also forfeited all their belongings to the emperor, but if they were allowed to honorably commit suicide, instead, their families got to inherit. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/56 "2022-07-08T19:59:21Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But he died more than 100 years ago And his name wasn’t “Ah-beh”. And his surname was Lincoln. Miss on all counts ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/57 "2022-07-08T21:04:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 2nd Abe shot in a century. > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I wonder what you can mean by this observation? Nothing I can think of makes any sense at all. This maybe? > **[Shot bald eagle, named Abe, dies](https://www.actionnews5.com/story/20069760/abe-the-bald-eagle-has-passed-away/)** > > Abe, the bald eagle that was shot earlier this month in Hardeman County, died over the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/58 "2022-07-08T21:20:23Z")
NY Post article contains a complete video of both shots on Abe. No obvious blood/gore in the video, but since this is murder footage, I’ve spoilered the link because the video will start automatically after the page loads: [Motive revealed in assassination of Japan's ex-PM Shinzo Abe](https://nypost.com/2022/07/08/motive-revealed-in-assassination-of-japans-ex-pm-shinzo-abe/) Abe froze on the spot for a full two seconds after the first shot happened (which missed), only turning around to look a split-second before the second shot happened. Freezing up was perhaps not the best option, but I guess everyone reacts differently when startled. Abe quickly steps down off the podium and kneels under his own power, and that’s really the last you see of him. The footage ends at 12 seconds with the takedown of the assassin. The police have mentioned that the assassin was motivated by the idea that Abe was a member in some unspecified organization. They seem to be deliberately not publicly naming the organization. anyone heard? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/59 "2022-07-08T21:26:48Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Abe froze on the spot for a full two seconds after the first shot happened (which missed), only turning around to look a split-second before the second shot happened. Freezing up was perhaps not the best option, but I guess everyone reacts differently when startled. He might not have guessed he was being shot at. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-2022-07-07-update-abe-has-died-2022-07-08/967596/60 "2022-07-08T21:41:58Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > He might not have guessed he was being shot at. Even someone familiar with the sound of gunfire might not have thought it was a gunshot; that homemade firearm really BOOMED. But even without ID’ing the sound as gunfire, I feel like I would have instantly ducked/squatted as an automatic response, as well as turning around to see just what the hell made such a monstrous noise. That’s what most of the people around him appeared to do. Again, not intending to blame Abe - I think it just was an unfortunate automatic reaction on his part. [Previous 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) [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=4)