Assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe The assassination of Abe has raised questions about hand-made guns in Japan. Crime experts have started expressing concern about that incident. It is feared that some more people may use weapons like the handmade gun used in Abe’s murder in the coming days under the ‘copycat crime’.
A man coming out of the crowd shot Abe, one of the country’s most stalwart leaders, with a hand-made gun. This gun was made so randomly that it was attached with tape. The 40-centimeter long gun used to kill Abe while campaigning for the ruling party in the western Japanese city of Nara appeared to be a novice. It was made of pipe wrapped with tape.
According to police, several more such guns were recovered during a search of the suspect’s one-room house in Nara. Unlike conventional weapons, handcrafted guns are practically impossible to detect, making investigation difficult. Such weapons are rarely used in Japan. Most of the attacks there have been used either by stabbing the victim or crushing the vehicle or by sprinkling gasoline and setting it on fire.
Abe’s attacker Tetsuya Yamagami probably chose a handmade weapon because of strict gun control laws. He is a former member of the Japanese Navy and is well versed in the art of making and using weapons. After the attack on Abe, he was arrested from the scene. Crime experts say that guidelines for making guns are easily available on the Internet and guns can also be made using 3-D printers.
Japan has also seen attacks on many leaders in the past. In 1960, Abe’s grandfather and then Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi was attacked with a knife, but he survived. In 1975, when then-Prime Minister Takeo Miki was attacked at the funeral of former Prime Minister Isaku Sato, Japan established a security force on the lines of the US Intelligence Service.
Hideto Ted Osanai, chief executive of the International Bodyguard Association in Japan, and other experts believe that the Japanese may have learned only superficial things, such as formation of a security squad, rather than a prevention mindset that is important for safety.
“Japanese citizens are so used to living a peaceful life that security guards are often found sleeping there,” said Yasuhiro Sasaki, president of Safety-Pro, a Tokyo-based security company. According to Sasaki, he cannot believe that in the period between the first and second shots, no one stepped forward to protect Abe. This is a scene that has been shown time and again on national television. He said security personnel should have pulled Abe away from danger. Even more important, according to Sasaki, is why he was not aware of a suspect’s involvement in the gathering.
Whose bag was the weapon in? “Providing security during campaigns is challenging, because our leaders try to get too close to people,” said Isao Itabashi, head of the Council for Public Policy’s research division, which works on such risks.
‘Lone-wolf’ terrorism
Unlike the US, the use of bulletproof glass in Japan is negligible and security officials rarely take steps to kill the attacker. According to experts, ‘there is a belief that people are not armed.’ Concerns are being raised that some more people may use weapons like the handmade gun used in Abe’s murder in the coming days under the ‘copycat crime’. Some analysts have called the attack on Abe an example of ‘lone-wolf’ terrorism. In such cases the conspirators act alone, in most cases influenced by some political ideology, which makes it very difficult to detect the crime in advance.