A top police official on Saturday acknowledged possible security lapses that allowed an assassin to fire his gun into former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Pedestrians try to take snap shots as the media wait for the vehicle carrying the body of the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to arrive at his home in Tokyo, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Abe was shot Friday while delivering his speech to support the Liberal Democratic Party's candidate during an election campaign in Nara, western Japan.
“I cannot deny there were problems with our security,” Onizuka said. “Whether it was a setup, emergency response, or ability of individuals, we still have to find out. Overall, there was a problem and we will review it from every perspective.” “It is necessary to investigate why security allowed Yamagami to freely move and go behind Mr. Abe,” Higuchi told a Nippon TV talk show.Experts also said Abe was more vulnerable standing on the ground level, instead of atop a campaign vehicle, which is usually the case but was reportedly unavailable due to his hastily arranged visit to Nara.
In videos circulating on social media, the 41-year-old Yamagami can be seen standing only a few meters behind Abe across a busy street, and continuously glancing around.A few minutes after Abe stood at the podium and started his speech — as a local party candidate and their supporters stood and waved to the crowd — Yamagami can be seen taking his gun out of a bag, walking toward Abe and firing the first shot, which released a cloud of smoke, but the projectile apparently missed Abe.
Japan is particularly known for its strict gun laws. With a population of 125 million, it had only 10 gun-related criminal cases last year, eight of then gang-related.
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