# Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe assassinated **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 8, 2022, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598 "2022-07-08T03:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**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, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/21 "2022-07-08T17:59:43Z")
I was looking at the [list of Japanese Prime Ministers on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Japan) and was surprised at how short the tenure was for most of them, the average being probably little more than a year. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/22 "2022-07-08T19:21:17Z")
Very unusual for Japan. Since tradition is so highly valued, especially by the educated and powerful, it is hard to see any significant Japanese entity doing this. No doubt Shinzo was still a very influential figure. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/23 "2022-07-08T19:37:41Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > It’s probably more likely that he pissed off some Yakuza boss, somehow, but it’s not impossible that his role as the unofficial leader of Japan is the underlying issue. I can definitely see it being like this, but will we learn for sure? He could just be some nut or he could have a “keep your lips sealed” deal that makes it impossible to understand why he would do something like this. ---
**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, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/24 "2022-07-08T19:46:07Z")
I have read in news accounts that the shooter was angry at some religious organization, to which he thought Mr. Abe was affiliated (and about which he was apparently mistaken). So basically Emily Litella with a home-made gun. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > No doubt Shinzo was still a very influential figure. Just to be clear that Shinzo was his given name, his family name is Abe. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/25 "2022-07-08T20:39:59Z")
Sorry, eh? Here’s a summary of some of Abe’s political accomplishments. Making treaties and jolting Japan out of neutrality. > **[Shinzo Abe Made the World Better](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/07/shinzo-abe-japanese-prime-minister-assassination/661523/)** > > The assassinated Japanese leader was the visionary architect of a vital security alliance in the Indo-Pacific region. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/26 "2022-07-08T22:49:44Z")
Did the security team make mistakes in this case? I can see other teams like the secret service studying this video over and over. I think after shot one, they should have tackled or pulled away the former-PM. They tackled the shooter in about 1 or 2 seconds, but it is perhaps possible they could have pushed or protected Abe. I wonder if this was poorly handled. They also were not watching his back close enough to stop the shot going off? ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/27 "2022-07-09T00:42:25Z")
If you watch the video there are a couple of people behind the former PM that were looking in the direction of the shooter. They appear to have been aware of him, but I’m sure they weren’t expecting him to pull out a homemade gun. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/28 "2022-09-27T17:32:33Z")
> **[Japan holds a controversial state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe](https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/1125272058/japan-funeral-shinzo-abe)** > > Japan's former leader Shinzo Abe was honored at a rare and divisive state funeral Tuesday that deeply split public opinion and drew angry protests. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598/29 "2022-09-27T18:28:41Z")
The thing that made it divisive is that the government paid for it without consulting the Diet (parliament), plus that he was a political figure not a head of state. I suspect they wouldn’t have had one of these if he hadn’t been assassinated, but that’s really no excuse for a state funeral. I think the current PM and his party will suffer some serious blowback for this in the next election. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-prime-minister-of-japan-shinzo-abe-assassinated/967598.md?page=1)