Japanese police acknowledge flaws in Shinzo Abe's security

“It is urgent that we conduct a thorough investigation to clarify this happened,” acknowledges the police chief of Nara department, where the assassination occurred.

Shinzo Abe was shot and killed while delivering a campaign speech for the Senate elections.

In the aftermath of the mob assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a senior police official has admitted that security breaches allowed such an event to occur.

< p class="e-p">We can't deny there were issues with security given the way things turned out, Nara Police Chief Tomoaki Onizuka said during the interview. x27;a press conference.

In more than 27 years of career, I have no greater remorse, no greater regret than this, he added, his voice trembling with emotion, about the death of Shinzo Abe, shot while delivering a speech at a political rally.

Local officials of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD, nationalist right) said no x27;having received no threats before the attack, the images of which were repeated on television channels.

This aerial view taken from a helicopter shows investigators at the scene where the former Japanese prime minister was shot dead.< /p>

We see the ex-head of government standing on a podium, when a loud explosion is heard, followed by the release of smoke. The spectators, surprised, bend down, and we see several people tackling another on the ground.

Security measures are sometimes lax in local election rallies in Japan, where the Violent crimes are rare and the gun laws are very strict. Some believe, however, that the measures, even permissive, were insufficient in Nara, given the profile of Mr. Abe.

Police said they would analyze what, precisely, went wrong on Friday and implement the necessary changes.

The alleged perpetrator of the The attack, arrested at the scene, confessed to having deliberately targeted Mr Abe, telling the police that he was angry at an organization he believed he was affiliated with. Some Japanese media mentioned a religious group.

This 41-year-old man, Tetsuya Yagami, is a former member of the Japanese navy, according to local media. He used a homemade-looking weapon, on which further analysis was in progress.

More recently, he worked in a factory in western Japan for about a year and a half, but resigned last May, according to local media. His attitude at work had not been a problem. I am surprised and shocked, his former superior told the daily Mainichi.

Tetsuya Yamagami (right), holding a homemade weapon that was allegedly used to assassinate Shinzo Abe.

Police say Yamagami spoke to investigators in a detached manner after the attack.

Former college classmates interviewed by TV NHK public television described him as calm, but not lonely, good at sports as well as studies.

There have been a few cases in Japan in recent years where people have illicitly manufactured weapons themselves, but crimes involving firearms are still very rare there. In 2021, the country had ten shootings, eight of which involved criminal groups, according to police data.

Making guns with a 3D printer and making bombs can now be learned on the internet anywhere in the world, says Mitsuru Fukuda, a professor at the University Nihon specialized in crisis management and terrorism, in Tokyo. It can be done in two or three days after obtaining parts such as pipes, adds Mr. Fukuda, who analyzed the images of the weapon used during the assassination of Shinzo Abe.

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Video footage shows the assailant firing a device with a pistol grip and what appeared to be two pipes covered in black electrical tape.

Anyone with a basic understanding of how firearms work could have made it with minimal knowledge, argues firearms expert Tetsuya Tsuda, adding that he may not have it didn't even take half a day to craft the weapon used in the attack.

Japanese media reported on Saturday that the suspect told investigators that he had searched online for gun-making instructions and also ordered parts and gunpowder on Internet.

The assassination of Mr. Abe has aroused strong emotions throughout the world, where commemorations have been organized, as here, by the Management Association of Ahmedabad, in India.

This tragic event did not prevent the senatorial campaign from continuing. Current Prime Minister Kishida, a member like Shinzo Abe of the LDP, took part in a campaign rally in Yamanashi (west of Tokyo) on Saturday morning in front of 600 people, declaring, according to the Mainichi daily, that violence cannot prevail over words.

We are not going to let what happened yesterday start again, launched a member of the security quoted by the daily, who described a reinforced protection device, with the installation of metal detectors and search of the bags of the spectators.

The body of Shinzo Abe arrived at his home in Tokyo early Saturday afternoon, aboard a hearse in which his wife had been seated .

Books of condolence are available to the public at Japanese embassies and consulates.

In Canada, condolence books will be available at the Japanese Consulates General in Montreal and Ottawa on July 11 and 12.

The Assassination of one of the best-known politicians of the archipelago, which he governed for more than eight years, has deeply bruised and moved both in Japan and abroad. Many leaders were quick to express their shock and grief over his sudden passing.

According to Japanese media, a wake is scheduled for Monday evening and the funeral will take place on Tuesday, with only the family and loved ones of Mr. Abe in attendance.

With information from Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and Associated Press