Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe collapses, shots heard, 7 July 2022

[dotr]

The improvised weapon lies on the ground after the alleged gunman was arrested

Shinzo Abe: Japan ex-leader assassinated while giving speech

A man has admitted to shooting the former PM during a campaign event in the city of Nara, police say.

www.bbc.com

rbbm
''A search of the alleged gunman's home uncovered what police believe are explosives, local media reported.
Speaking before Mr Abe's death was announced, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the attack, saying: "It is barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated."
"This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections - the very foundation of our democracy - and is absolutely unforgivable," Mr Kishida said.''

''The suspect has been identified as Nara resident Tetsuya Yamagami. Local media reports say he is believed to be a former member of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japan's equivalent of a navy. He is said to have left active service in 2005.
Officials have yet to comment on the suspect's motives, but local media outlets reported that Mr Yamagami told police he was "dissatisfied with former Prime Minister Abe and aimed to kill him". He is also reported to have told officers that he did not hold a "grudge against the former Prime Minister's political beliefs".
Police also discovered several possible explosive devices during a search of his home, and NHK said bomb disposal technicians are preparing to carry out a controlled explosion on the premises.''

rbbm.

Explained: Who is Tetsuya Yamagami, the man who shot Japan’s Shinzo Abe?

Tetsuya Yamagami reportedly told the police he was dissatisfied with Shinzo Abe and wanted to kill him. A witness to the attack claimed he did not attempt to escape after the shooting.

indianexpress.com

''How common is gun violence in Japan?​

Gun shootings in Japan are rare and mass shootings are unheard of because of its strict laws on the weapons. According to a BBC report from 2017, in order to get access to a weapon an applicant had to “attend an all-day class, take a written exam and pass a shooting-range test with a mark of at least 95%.”

 

[zencompass]

This is shocking and I join others in feeling deeply saddened by this news.

Former P.M. Shinzo Abe was admired and loved not only by his country but also the other world leaders whenever they met at the G7.

I enjoyed listening to his speeches and watching his genuine camaraderie with not only the leaders but within any discussions he held in Japan.

There was strength and resolve behind his kind face with that beautiful smile.

It is especially saddening to me to hear of this tremendous loss of a leader who shared his vision of world peace.

May his wife, family and friends be surrounded by love and comfort at this unfathomable time.

Shinzo Abe – a life in pictures

A look back at the life of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister Shinzo Abe, known for his ‘Abenomics’ policy, who was shot dead while making a campaign speech

www.theguardian.com

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/abe-killing-world-reaction-1.6514381

JMO

 

[Elley Mae]

Homemade gun used to kill Japan’s ex-PM Shinzo Abe

Homemade gun used to kill Japan’s ex-PM Shinzo Abe

This is the clunky, homemade weapon used to assassinate former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe Friday in a country that has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.

nypost.com

Appears to have to tubes taped to a 2x4 wrapped in black electrical tape, wires are visible underneath.

…

 

[Elley Mae]

Police said Yamagami was responding calmly to questions and had admitted to attacking Abe, telling investigators he had plotted to kill him because he believed rumors about the former leader's connection to a certain organization that police did not identify.

Japan's Shinzo Abe assassination: Who is suspect Tetsuya Yamagami?

More details are emerging Friday about Tetsuya Yamagami, the suspect accused of shooting and killing former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a speech in Nara.

www.foxnews.com

 

[shotgun09]

Police said Yamagami was responding calmly to questions and had admitted to attacking Abe, telling investigators he had plotted to kill him because he believed rumors about the former leader's connection to a certain organization that police did not identify.

Japan's Shinzo Abe assassination: Who is suspect Tetsuya Yamagami?

More details are emerging Friday about Tetsuya Yamagami, the suspect accused of shooting and killing former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a speech in Nara.

www.foxnews.com

Wondering...just what that "certain organization" is....
What kind of "organization" could the former leader have been involved with?
Hmmm

 

[Anance]

Wondering...just what that "certain organization" is....
What kind of "organization" could the former leader have been involved with?
Hmmm

It's religious in nature not political. My understanding is that Abe is rumored to belong to a new religious group, not one of their traditional faiths - Shinto/Buddhism. So, we'll have to wait until more information is available. Does anyone know more?

 

[orchidaceaes]

It's religious in nature not political. My understanding is that Abe is rumored to belong to a new religious group, not one of their traditional faiths - Shinto/Buddhism. So, we'll have to wait until more information is available. Does anyone know more?

Happy Science maybe? It's a religious group/cult that's ring-wing (which would line up with PM Abe's politics) and that's been attacked before in the past, albeit by another cult.

Inside the Fringe Japanese Religion That Claims It Can Cure Covid-19

Happy Science, which boasts millions of followers, is led by a man who channels Buddha (and Jesus and Freddie Mercury) and says he can defeat the coronavirus. For a fee.

www.nytimes.com

 

[PrairieWind]

From the video, it looks like it is the second blast that gets Abe. Also it appears there were others injured in the blasts. I hope they were not seriously injured.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Citizens are almost completely forbidden from owning firearms, and hunters have to go through a battery of restrictive tests, including classes, written exams and mental-health evaluations — even just to shoot at clay targets.

The law was set in 1958, stating that “no one shall possess a firearm or firearms or a sword or swords” — the complete opposite of the Second Amendment in the US and its right to “keep and bear arms.”

They are “the first nation to impose gun laws in the whole world,” Iain Overton, the author of “Gun Baby Gun,” tweeted Friday.

“I think it laid down a bedrock saying that guns really don’t play a part in civilian society,” he said.

Shinzo Abe’s shooting death shocks nation with some of world’s strictest gun laws

Shinzo Abe’s shooting death all the more shocking because Japan has some of the strictest gun-control laws in the world.

nypost.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[Gemmie]

This is shocking and I join others in feeling deeply saddened by this news.

Former P.M. Shinzo Abe was admired and loved not only by his country but also the other world leaders whenever they met at the G7.

I enjoyed listening to his speeches and watching his genuine camaraderie with not only the leaders but within any discussions he held in Japan.

There was strength and resolve behind his kind face with that beautiful smile.

It is especially saddening to me to hear of this tremendous loss of a leader who shared his vision of world peace.

May his wife, family and friends be surrounded by love and comfort at this unfathomable time.

Shinzo Abe – a life in pictures

A look back at the life of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister Shinzo Abe, known for his ‘Abenomics’ policy, who was shot dead while making a campaign speech

www.theguardian.com

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/abe-killing-world-reaction-1.6514381

JMO

I agree with you. I don't know why but Abe-san's death has really bothered me. I can't help but cry every time I hear his name or see a headline about him. I don't cry easily and with so much crap going on in the world right now you'd think I'd be crying non-stop but oddly I'm not. The shooting of Abe-san for whatever reason has opened up the floodgates.

May you rest in peace, Abe-san. You were (and still are) highly respected.

Adding a video of Abe-san's 19 second long handshake with Trump. The expression on his face once he's extricated his hand is priceless. It still makes me laugh. I'm thinking this isn't against the rules as it's from CNN's youtube.

 

[HMSHood]

Looking at Tetsuya Yamagami, he is likely an injustice collector as he harbored grudges. Assassins like Tetsuya Yamagami, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley, Charles J. Guiteau, Leon Czolgosz, John Wilkes Booth, and Jared Loughner have trouble fitting in. They are often resentful at society.

Assessing Presidential Stalkers and Assassins

A considerable body of research on stalking has helped in our understanding of what motivates and characterizes this behavior. The stalking typologies that have evolved fall short, however, when we attempt to use them to understand persons who have pursued the President of the United States...

jaapl.org

The psychodynamics of the presidential assassin and an examination of the theme/graphic variables of his threatening correspondence - PubMed

Many document examiners recognize the importance of an individuals 'state of mind' and its effect on handwriting but historically have steered clear of working closely with psychiatrists, linguists, or psychologists in understanding the interaction of nervous impulses and motor responses on the...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Psybersquare: Injustice Collectors

Psybersquare. Strength through community and self-help.

www.psybersquare.com

Are They an 'Injustice Collector?'

Those of us who have grown up with an injustice collecting parent as well as those who are currently in a relationship with a person who's got a "bad" list that's endless, immediately recognize the Injustice Collector. Children who grow up with a parent that collects resentments have to resort...

www.lisaescott.com

 

[Anance]

Happy Science maybe? It's a religious group/cult that's ring-wing (which would line up with PM Abe's politics) and that's been attacked before in the past, albeit by another cult.

Inside the Fringe Japanese Religion That Claims It Can Cure Covid-19

Happy Science, which boasts millions of followers, is led by a man who channels Buddha (and Jesus and Freddie Mercury) and says he can defeat the coronavirus. For a fee.

www.nytimes.com

Thanks -- the Japanese media is reporting that is the Unification Church.

【独自】安倍元首相を撃った山上徹也が供述した、宗教団体「統一教会」の名前（現代ビジネス編集部） @gendai_biz

You may need Google translate.

BTW, I am not versed in Japanese religions, so if anyone wishes to correct me...please do!

 

[dotr]

Shooter says he believed Abe promoted religious group that bankrupted his mother

The man who fatally shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told police that his mother had made a "huge donation" to a religious body, and he harbored a grudge against the group, which he believed was associated with the Japanese leader, investigative sources said Saturday. A day after the death…

japantoday.com

''TOKYO
The man who fatally shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told police that his mother had made a "huge donation" to a religious body, and he harbored a grudge against the group, which he believed was associated with the Japanese leader, investigative sources said Saturday.
A day after the death of Japan's longest-serving prime minister, one of the sources also quoted Tetsuya Yamagami as saying something to the effect of "initially, I intended to attack an executive of the group" but decided to target Abe instead.''

T

 

[vls12345]

Police seize DIY weapons found at home of Japanese ex-PM's 'assassin'

Police have seized DIY weapons found at the home of Japanese ex-PM Shinzo Abe's 'assassin' Tetsuya Yamagami including a nine-barrel 'shotgun' (pictured) controlled by a phone.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[dotr]

July 11 2022

Unification Church distances itself from Abe's assassination

The Japan branch of South Korea’s Unification Church acknowledged Monday as its member the mother of the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but denied that it demanded large donations from anyone.

www.cp24.com

''TOKYO (AP) — The Japan branch of South Korea’s Unification Church acknowledged Monday as its member the mother of the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but denied that it demanded large donations from anyone.

Japanese media reports have cited large donations by the mother and her subsequent bankruptcy as a possible motive. Tomihiro Tanaka, head of the church, declined comment on the specifics of the donations, saying a police investigation was ongoing. Speaking in generalities, he confirmed some people had made generous donations, but stressed none were forced.

The reports that link Abe with the money woes say Tetsuya Yamagami, who was arrested Friday on-scene after the shooting, blamed the church for his family’s financial problems.


“Trying to understand how such hatred may have possibly led to the killing is totally perplexing,” Tanaka told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.''

 

[Elley Mae]

Thanks -- the Japanese media is reporting that is the Unification Church.

【独自】安倍元首相を撃った山上徹也が供述した、宗教団体「統一教会」の名前（現代ビジネス編集部） @gendai_biz

You may need Google translate.

BTW, I am not versed in Japanese religions, so if anyone wishes to correct me...please do!

Shinzo Abe killing: ‘Moonies’ church confirms suspect’s mother is member


The church, whose members are colloquially known as Moonies, confirmed at a press conference on Monday that the mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, who was detained moments after he shot Abe from behind during an election campaign speech on Friday, attends meetings about once a month.

Shinzo Abe killing: ‘Moonies’ church confirms suspect’s mother is member

Tetsuya Yamagami’s mother attends meetings, says Unification church, after he told investigators of grudge

www.theguardian.com

 

[vls12345]

Shinzo Abe's assassination spotlights Unification Church links to Japan's politics

The assassination, allegedly motivated by a grudge Abe's suspected killer held against the Unification Church, has put the relationship between Japan and the church under a new spotlight.

www.npr.org

Mother of Shinzo Abe shooter says she feels sorry for causing trouble for the Unification Church

The mother of the suspect involved in the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly feels sorry for causing trouble for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also known as the Unification Church. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, who was arrested immediately...

news.yahoo.com