TOKYO — The assassination of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, at a political rally Friday rocked a country where strict firearms laws mean gun violence is almost unheard of, as world leaders past and present expressed shock and sadness at the death of the man who worked to increase Japan’s global influence.
Investigation began into the gunman’s motives and security measures that were in place for the former leader, who was attacked while stumping for a fellow party member in Nara, near Osaka. Abe, one of the country’s most recognizable political figures, was a staple on the campaign trail ahead of elections to the upper house of parliament Sunday.
After the assassination brought the campaign to a halt, candidates headed back on the road Saturday with enhanced security measures — there were limits on directly interacting with crowds — in what Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described as an act to prevent violence from altering the country’s democratic process.
“Elections are the foundation of democracy, which we must defend. We cannot give in to violence. For this reason, we will continue to fight the election campaign until the very end,” Kishida said Friday, after the announcement of Abe’s death.
President Biden said he was “stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened by the news” about the killing of a longtime staunch American ally. Kishida spoke with Biden Saturday morning.
“This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him,” Biden said. “Even at the moment he was attacked, he was engaged in the work of democracy.” Biden added that “gun violence always leaves a deep scar on the communities that are affected by it.” The debate over guns in the United States has heightened in recent weeks after a number of mass shootings, including at a grocery store, an elementary school and a July Fourth parade." WP
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...t-nara-attack/