Tokyo — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday blamed insufficient police safety for the demise of former chief Shinzo Abe, who was shot final week whereas giving an outside marketing campaign speech. Abe, one in all Japan's most influential politicians, was assassinated final Friday in western Japan.
CBS Information senior international correspondent Elizabeth Palmer coated Abe's funeral this week, which drew 1000's of individuals. She mentioned the homicide, carried out by a lone attacker utilizing a home made gun, has shocked Japan, the place firearms are extremely managed and gun violence is extraordinarily uncommon.
Images and movies of the capturing present the gunman was in a position to come near Abe from behind, whereas safety guards had been centered towards the entrance.
"I believe there have been issues with the safety measures," Kishida mentioned.
Officers on the Nationwide Public Security Fee and Nationwide Police Company are investigating what went fallacious and can compile measures in response, Kishida mentioned.
"I urge them to hold out an intensive inspection and repair what must be fastened, whereas additionally learning examples in different international locations," he mentioned.
Kishida additionally introduced plans to carry a state funeral for Abe later this yr, noting his contributions at house and in boosting Japan's safety alliance with the US. Abe's nationalistic views drove the governing celebration's conservative insurance policies.
"By holding a state funeral in reminiscence of former Prime Minister Abe, Japan will present its dedication to not collapse to violence and to firmly defend democracy," Kishida mentioned. "Japan may even present to the world its dedication to maintain up its vigor and open a path towards the longer term."
A smaller funeral ceremony was held at a temple in Tokyo on Tuesday.
A suspect was arrested instantly after Abe was shot and is being held for as much as three weeks for questioning till prosecutors resolve whether or not to press homicide expenses.
The suspect reportedly informed police that he deserted a plan to shoot Abe a day earlier at a speech in one other metropolis due to a requirement that baggage be checked on the entrance.
Police and media reviews say he informed investigators that he killed Abe due to rumored hyperlinks between the previous prime minister and a non secular group the suspect hated. The suspect, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, was reportedly upset as a result of his mom made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted the household.
The assassination has shone a light-weight on hyperlinks between Abe's Liberal Democratic Social gathering and the Unification Church, which is thought for its conservative and anti-communist beliefs and its mass weddings.
The Japan department of the South Korean-based church confirmed on Monday that Yamagami's mom was a member and that Abe was not. Abe has appeared in video messages to teams affiliated with the church.