Morning Briefing Special Edition: Shinzo Abe killed

July 9, 2022

By Amelia Nierenberg

Writer, Briefings

Good morning. Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was assassinated yesterday. We bring you the latest in this special Saturday edition of the briefing.

Shinzo Abe, moments after being shot.Kyodo News, via Associated Press

The killing of Japan's former leader

A gunman shot Shinzo Abe, Japan's most influential former prime minister, while he was giving a speech at a campaign event in the city of Nara. Less than six hours later, Abe, the longest-serving leader in Japan's postwar history, was dead at age 67.

The stunning assassination rattled Japan and its sense of identity as a peaceful country where violent crime is rare.

The police arrested a suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, on a charge of attempted murder. The police said the gunman used an improvised firearm, and admitted that he had intended to kill Abe because he believed the former prime minister had some association with a group against which the gunman held "a grudge." Here are live updates.

By Pablo Robles, Agnes Chang, Denise Lu and Josh Holder; photo showing the scene after the attack by Kyodo News, via Getty Images

Abe was one of Asia's most well known and widely respected leaders and remained the most recognizable Japanese politician even after leaving office. His death comes as China seeks to extend its influence, North Korea continues to test weapons and the war in Ukraine disrupts the global economy.

The assassination will overshadow tomorrow's elections for the Upper House of Parliament. Abe stepped down in 2020 but has remained a power broker: He had been campaigning for a junior politician from his party, the governing Liberal Democratic Party, which was expected to sail to victory.

Details: Abe collapsed midspeech and was bleeding on the street, shot in the neck, doctors said. Video from the scene showed a man being tackled after the shooting. The gunman appeared to be standing behind Abe when he shot from close range. Here's what happened.

Reaction: Fumio Kishida, Japan's current prime minister, described Abe as a "towering politician who left behind enormous accomplishments in various areas." He called the assassination "an act of cowardly barbarism."

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

A modernizer with staying power

Shinzo Abe had sought to revive the country's stagnant economy and normalize its military. His tenure as prime minister for nearly eight consecutive years was a remarkable feat of longevity.

From 2012 to 2020, Abe helped pull Japan out of the so-called lost decades that followed the bursting of a huge property bubble in the 1980s. In a program known as Abenomics, he imposed measures that involved cheap cash, government spending on stimulus projects and attempts at corporate deregulation.

Abe also sought to unfetter Japan's military after decades of post-World War II pacifism and resisted calls for the country to more fully apologize for its wartime atrocities.

One significant move came in 2015, when he pushed through legislation that authorized overseas combat missions alongside allied troops in the name of "collective self-defense." The move came after huge public protests and a contentious battle with opposition politicians. But Abe failed in his long-held dream of revising the war-renouncing clause of Japan's Constitution.

Shinzo Abe, center, in 1988 with his father, Shintaro Abe, right. The elder Abe was a powerful figure in the Liberal Democratic Party.The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images

The scion of a staunchly nationalist family of politicians, Abe deployed considerable political skill to remain in a post known for its high turnover. He held the post of prime minister from 2006 to 2007 before making his second, long stint. In 2020, Abe resigned because of ill health during the pandemic, a year before his term was set to end.

Early life: Abe was born in Tokyo in 1954. His maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, was accused of war crimes but never tried; he served as prime minister from 1957 to 1960. Abe's political future seemed preordained: He studied political science at Seikei University in Tokyo and spent a year at the University of Southern California, also studying political science.

Abe sought to give the military a greater profile.Katsumi Kasahara/ Associated Press

Region: Abe's nationalism became a sore point with Japan's neighbors. In seeking to revise the Constitution, Abe angered China and South Korea, two victims of Japan's 20th-century militarism. Under his watch, Japan's relations with South Korea fell to one of their lowest points, with the two countries arguing over how Japan should atone for its historic brutalities.

Continue reading the main story

WORLD LEADERS REACT

President Biden ordered U.S. flags at federal facilities around the world to be flown at half-staff for three days. "His vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific will endure," Biden said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would hold a national day of mourning. "He was a towering global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a remarkable administrator," Modi said, calling Abe "one of my dearest friends."
"We mourn with you," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia told the Japanese people in a statement, describing Abe as "a leader in the Indo-Pacific, championing a vision of a free and open region."

MORE THINGS TO KNOW

As prime minister, Abe sought a warmer relationship with China. In recent months, however, he became increasingly vocal in his criticism of Beijing — and his support for Taiwan.
In the years leading up to World War II, assassinations were a regular feature of Japanese politics. But the country has enjoyed a long period of stability: The last killing of a national political figure was in 1960.
Gun violence is almost nonexistent in Japan, which has exceptionally strict regulations. Last year, there was one death from a gun-related incident.
David Frum wrote in The Atlantic about Abe's maneuvering of strategic alliances with India, the U.S. and Australia — and his careful management of China. "Through it all, Abe consistently advanced a vision of the Pacific region that was safe for democracy," Frum wrote.