Japan marks a year since former PM Abe was gunned down
Tokyo, JapanReuters Japan on Saturday marked one year since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was gunned down during an election speech by a man angry at his links to the Unification Church. The death of Japan’s longest serving Prime Minister, which was caught on video, rattled a nation unused to gun violence. Mourners offer flowers […]
Year in Review: 12 pictures that captured key moments in 2022
As part of our Year in Review, we take a look at how photographers captured some of the key moments of 2022…
With flowers and a gun salute, Japan bids farewell to Abe at state funeral
Tokyo, JapanReuters With flowers, prayers and a 19-gun salute, Japan honoured slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday at the first state funeral for a former premier in 55 years – a ceremony that has become as controversial as he was in life. The ceremony started at 2pm, with Abe’s ashes carried into the […]
Japan’s funeral for divisive slain PM Shinzo Abe fuels backlash
Tokyo, JapanReuters Japan will honour former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a rare state funeral on Tuesday, a ceremony that has become a flashpoint for public anger over political scandal and deepened opposition to successor Fumio Kishida. Abe’s assassination in July touched off a series of revelations about ties between lawmakers in the ruling Liberal […]
Japan bids sombre farewell to slain Shinzo Abe, its longest-serving premier
Tokyo, JapanReuters With prayers, flowers and flags draped in black ribbons, Japan on Tuesday said farewell to Shinzo Abe, a polarising figure who dominated politics as the country’s longest-serving premier, before being gunned down at a campaign rally last week. Crowds packed pavements lined with a heavy police presence as the hearse carrying Abe departed […]
Mother of Abe killing suspect is Unification Church member, church says
Tokyo, JapanReuters The mother of the man arrested for the killing of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a member of the Unification Church, the head of its Japanese arm said on Monday. Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 41-year-old, has been identified by police as the suspect who approached Abe and opened fire during a […]
Essay: Shinzo Abe’s killing – the history of political violence in Japan
In the wake of the assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on Friday, UK-based scholars, HUGO DOBSON and KRISTIAN MAGNUS HAUKEN, explain – in an article first published on The Conversation – why the assassination is sadly not without precedent…
Abe killer wielded homemade gun, grudge over mother’s financial ruin, police say
Nara, Japan Reuters The man arrested for Shinzo Abe’s killing believed the former Japanese leader was linked to a religious group he blamed for his mother’s financial ruin and spent months planning the attack with a homemade gun, police told local media on Saturday. Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 41-year-old, was identified by police as the […]
Pope highlights Japan’s commitment to peace after Abe killed
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis prays that Japan will strengthen its commitment to peace and nonviolence despite the “senseless” assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Vatican said Saturday. In a telegram, Francis said he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the assassination and offered his condolences to Abe’s family and the people of Japan. Pope […]
Before fatal shooting, Japan’s Abe was up close with the crowd
Nara, Japan Reuters Moments before he was fatally shot from behind on Friday, Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was doing what he’d done for decades: getting up close to the crowds and stumping for a local candidate. As is typical in Japan, where violent crime is rare and guns are scarce, security appeared to […]