The case will strengthen the position of the prime minister’s party in Sunday’s elections. However, according to experts, it weakens the Japanese experience of the country’s security, at least temporarily.
of Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe shooting in the middle of a campaign event has shocked the whole world. The case is also a shock in Japan, where the sense of security has always been strong and, for example, gun laws are very strict.
– The shock is extremely great. It is very unusual for this to happen. Japan is a safe country, where armed violence and attacks on politicians are very rare, says someone who has lived and worked in Japan for years Liisa Karvinenwho has also reported on the country’s affairs for .
Abe was shot in the middle of a speech at a campaign event. He died of his injuries later in hospital.
Leading researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute, Japan expert Bart Gaens he also considers what happened to be very unexpected and shocking. The number of gun owners in Japan is lower than, for example, in any other G7 country, and according to Gaens, the fact that the gun used by the shooter was self-made is also indicative of the strictness of the laws.
– What happened can lead to criticism about how this happened. How did the shooter get so close to Abe. Security measures for politicians may be tightened, says Gaens.
“People are very upset”
Liisa Karvinen, who is currently in Tokyo, says that people were very shocked in the interview with the media.
Very little is known about the shooter’s background and motives, but Gaens believes that it is an isolated case.
The approximately 40-year-old shooter was arrested immediately after the act. According to the police, the perpetrator said during the interrogation that he was dissatisfied with Abe’s politics, the Japanese public broadcaster NHK reports. According to information in the Japanese media, the man would be a former soldier.
The death could lead to an avalanche of votes for Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Sunday’s election. According to Liisa Karvinen, the current prime minister’s party is expected to win the election in any case, but the media has estimated that the death could support the victory.
– It is very possible that many people will vote for LPD. The party can get a strong majority in the parliament, and thanks to it push the economic and defense reforms it wants, such as increasing the defense budget from the current one, says UPI’s Bart Gaens.
Abe’s politics divided the nation, but his legacy is strong
Until his death, Shinzo Abe was a prominent person and an influential figure in Japanese politics, although his term as prime minister ended already in 2020.
The country’s longest serving prime minister represented the conservative Liberal Democratic Party and was very nationalist and conservative.
As prime minister, he pushed for powerful economic reforms that divided the nation and aroused mixed feelings.
– During Abe’s administration, the division into two intensified. In Japan, to put it bluntly, everyone has been in the same large middle class, but during Abe’s term, the income distribution started to show more clearly. The poor got poorer and the rich got richer than before, says Liisa Karvinen.
Abe’s economic reforms were not entirely successful, and relations with China and South Korea also grew tighter during his prime ministership. Coming from a strong political family, Abe’s legacy is still strong, says Bart Gaens.
– He achieved a lot, and his legacy is great, especially in defense policy and improving Japan’s foreign relations, says Gaens.