the country in shock after the assassination of Shinzo Abe

On Friday July 8, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead in the street. An attack in the middle of the campaign for the senatorial elections which were to take place on Sunday July 10. A scene all the more shocking as street violence does not exist in Japan. “Japan was felt to be a safe country. Gun death is extremely rare in Japan. For example, last year there was only one gun-related death. It is said that in the United States it is almost 20,000”, notes Togo Shiraishi, head of the Paris office of the daily Nikkei. An act that recalls the month of April 2007, during which the mayor of Nagasaki was also assassinated, while he was campaigning. “Yeah but that was over 10 years ago. Generally speaking, most gun related incidents are Yakuza related”continues Togo Shiraishi.

For the suspect, a 41-year-old former soldier, is the death penalty a solution? “For the moment it is difficult to say, because we do not know the motive of the suspect. But it is true that the death penalty still exists so it is a possibility”, emphasizes Togo Shiraishi. Shinzo Abe, who had broken records for longevity in power, was highly regarded. “He stayed for a very long time. In particular thanks to a certain relative stability of the economy, which allowed him to win several elections. He was the symbol of a stable politician”he concludes.