The Nara prefecture police chief said Saturday that there were “undeniable” loopholes in the security measures of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead Friday at an election rally in the western Japanese city, and promised an investigation.
“I think it is undeniable that there are problems with the escort procedures and security arrangements of former Prime Minister Abe,” Tomoaki Onizuka, the Nara prefectural police chief, told reporters, pledging to “fully expose the problems and take action as a result.”
Japanese police announced that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was killed with a homemade weapon, raising questions regarding the quality of the weapon and how the suspect obtained it in a country where gun ownership is strictly controlled.
Abe was shot near his neck and the bullet pierced his heart, according to one of the doctors who took part in attempts to rescue him.
On Saturday, Japan is still in shock, the day following the assassination of Shinzo Abe, whose body was transported to Tokyo from the Nara region in the west, where he was shot, Friday.
The assassination of Abe, one of the most famous domestic politicians, who has been in office for more than eight years, has sparked feelings of deep sadness in Japan and abroad.
The attacker, who was arrested at the scene of the incident, admitted that he deliberately targeted Abe, explaining to the police that he was spiteful of an organization he believed the former prime minister was linked to.
Japanese media reported that it was a religious group, and that the 41-year-old attacker had previously joined the Japanese Navy.
At the time of the attack, the 67-year-old former prime minister was giving a speech at an election rally in the Nara region (west) before Sunday’s Senate elections, when he heard gunshots.
The current Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, confirmed, on Friday, that preparations for the elections, “the basis of democracy”, will continue as normal.
Abe was hit by two bullets in the neck, and he was pronounced dead a few hours later, despite the efforts of a team of twenty doctors to save him.
