NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was deeply shocked by Abe’s “heinous murder.” Shot from behind.
The bomber assassinated the former longest-serving Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe
Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He headed the government from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to September 2020, when he resigned.
A month earlier, he announced that he intended to resign due to a medical condition.
The act was condemned by many world politicians. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was deeply shocked by Abe’s “heinous murder.” South Korean President Jun Sok-jol said it was an “unforgivable crime.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who described Abe as a “great democrat,” said he was the victim of a “cowardly and brutal murder.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Britain stands in this dark time after the “incredibly sad news” of the death of Japan’s ex-prime minister in Japan. Moscow was “deeply saddened” by Abe’s death.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Abe a “great Japanese patriot.” Czech President Miloš Zeman expressed “my sincere condolences to the Japanese people.”
Waseda Airo Hino, a professor of political science at Tokyo University, said such a shooting is unprecedented in Japan.
“Nothing like this has ever happened,” he said. Political violence is rare in Japan, a country with strict gun control regulations. According to experts, almost zero tolerance contributes to the extremely low number of crimes with a weapon.
A few exceptions include shotguns for hunting and sport, and even in this case, future owners must take courses and pass written and practical exams or psychological examinations, The Guardian reported.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot by an assassin on Friday, succumbed to his injuries.
