Ex-Japan PM Abe Remembered 4 Years after Shooting

Nara, July 8 (Jiji Press)–As Wednesday marked four years since the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the western Japan city of Nara, about 1,000 visitors paid their respects to him at a floral tribute stand at the shooting site. The stand was set up in front of Kintetsu Railway Co.’s Yamato-Saidaiji Station, where Abe was fatally shot during a stump speech for the 2022 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament. “I still vividly remember seeing Abe falling to the ground after the sound of the second shot,” Yoshio Ogita, 78, a Nara prefectural assembly member belonging to Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, said during his visit to pay a floral tribute. Ogita was the secretary-general of the LDP’s prefectural chapter and was standing several meters from Abe at the time of the shooting. “It’s the mission of those left behind to pass on the memory of the incident,” he said. “Abe shook hands with me at a speech gathering,” Rumi Yamada, 60, a nursery teacher in Nara, said. “I am still deeply saddened by his death, and my sorrow will never go away.” The floral tribute stand was set up by a group including members of the Nara branch of Japan Conference, a conservative group. The Nara prefectural police guarded the area and conducted baggage inspections on visitors. Attendees observed a moment of silence at 11:30 a.m., the time of the shooting. Also on Wednesday, Abe’s widow, Akie, visited the former leader’s grave with his former supporters in the city of Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. She also attended a memorial service at Choanji temple in the city. “I am grateful that people are giving prayers four years on,” she said. On July 8, 2022, Abe was speaking before some 300 people, when he was shot from behind around the neck and chest at close range with a homemade gun. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Assailant Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, was sentenced by Nara District Court in January this year to life in prison for murder and violation of the firearms and swords control law. In the lay judge trial, the defense sought leniency, citing Yamagami’s troubled family background, including issues related to donations to the controversial religious group widely known as the Unification Church. However, the court determined that his background did not contribute significantly to his actions. The defense has appealed the verdict. A dissolution order for the Unification Church became final last month with the Supreme Court’s dismissal of an appeal from the group. The order had taken effect in March following a decision by Tokyo High Court, triggering a liquidation process. The liquidator of the group has secured at least 40 billion yen in deposits and savings held by the group and is in the process of selling its real estate. The liquidator began accepting in May claims from victims who were forced to make large donations to the group, including children of followers. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]