Assassination of Japan’s former PM Shinzo Abe sends shock waves across the world

Judy Woodruff:

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was gunned down today during a stump speech for a legislative candidate he was supporting.

Abe was Japan's prime minister two separate times, with his second stint lasting from 2012 until 2020, when he resigned. His murder sent shockwaves not just through Japan, but across the world, as special correspondent Phoebe Amoroso in Tokyo reports.

Phoebe Amoroso:

What began as a sleepy campaign event became the site of horror, chaos, and murder of Japan's longest-serving leader, felled by an assassin on the street.

Shinzo Abe's death comes as a shock in a country where gun violence, much less political violence, is exceedingly rare. Guns are tightly restricted. The gunman, now in police custody, took aim at Abe from behind. Japanese media say he used a homemade weapon.

Video from the scene shows him being pinned down by security. The 41-year-old man, a former member of Japan's navy, told police he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him. Similar weapons were found in his one-bedroom apartment.

Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cabinet ministers returned to Tokyo from campaign events after the shooting. Kishida pledged elections for Japan's House of Councillors will still move forward as planned, while he condemned the murder through tears.

Fumio Kishida, Japanese Prime Minister (through translator):

This is a dastardly and barbaric act that took place in the midst of an election, which is the basis of democracy.

Phoebe Amoroso:

Abe was the youngest ever prime minister to take office. In 2006, a short stint that ended after a year due to his health. But he returned in 2012 with ambitions of revitalizing the country's suffering economy.

His run came to its end when he resigned in 2020, citing a recurrence of ulcerative colitis he had since he was a teenager.

Shinzo Abe, Former Japanese Prime Minister (through translator):

Amid my illness and medical treatment and the distress of not being in full physical condition, there must not be any mistakes made on important political decisions.

Phoebe Amoroso:

He's remembered in part as a nationalist, with an unrealized goal of revising Japan's post-World War II Constitution that renounces war. His rhetoric prioritized making Japan a normal and beautiful nation with a stronger military and a bigger role in international affairs.

Tributes from world leaders poured. President Biden spoke early this afternoon.

President Joe Biden:

This hasn't happened to Japan in decades and decades, I'm told going all the way back to the late '30s, the mid-'30s.

Phoebe Amoroso:

And, beyond the U.S., from South Korea's foreign minister.

Park Jin, South Korean Foreign Minister:

The Korean government strongly condemns this shooting incident, this violent crime That should not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Phoebe Amoroso:

And Indonesia's top diplomat.

Retno Marsudi, Indonesian Foreign Minister:

His dedication to serving his country and people will always be remembered as a prime example for all.

Phoebe Amoroso:

Gun violence is rare in Japan, where there only 10 gun-related criminal cases last year and just one gun homicide.

Japanese people gathered as they process the loss, paying respects to a leader both divisive and unifying, depending on who you ask.

Person (through translator):

No matter what you think about his politics, the fact that a man who took such great responsibility and did so much has died in this way is a tragedy.

Phoebe Amoroso:

For the "PBS NewsHour," Phoebe Amoroso in Tokyo.