26 ms·

The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

495 points by hunglee2 4y ago

ETHisso2017 4y ago
Nobusuke Kishi (Abe's grandfather) has an extremely interesting backstory: > As a self-described "playboy of the Eastern world", Kishi was known during his four years in Manchukuo for his lavish spending amid much drinking, gambling, and womanizing.[34] Kishi spent almost all of his time in Manchukuo's capital, Hsinking (modern Changchun, China) with the exception of monthly trips to Dalian on the world famous Asia Express railroad line, where he indulged in his passion for women in alcohol- and sex-drenched weekends.[29] When not visiting the brothels of Manchuria, Kishi was demanding sex from the waitresses who served him at the expensive restaurants he patronized. When he was locked up in Sugamo prison in 1946 awaiting trial, he reminisced about his Manchukuo years: “I came so much, it was hard to clean it all up”.[29] According to Driscoll, "photographs and written descriptions of Kishi during this period never fail to depict a giddy exuberance: laughing and joking while doling out money during the day and looking forward to drinking and fornicating at night."[35] Kishi was able to afford his hedonistic, free-spending lifestyle as he had control over millions of yen with virtually no oversight, alongside being deeply involved in and profiting from the opium trade.[30] Before returning to Japan in October 1939, Kishi is reported to have advised his colleagues in the Manchukuo government about corruption: "Political funds should be accepted only after they have passed through a 'filter' and been 'cleansed'. If a problem arises, the 'filter' itself will then become the center of the affair, while the politician, who has consumed the 'clean water', will not be implicated. Political funds become the basis of corruption scandals only when they have not been sufficiently 'filtered.'"[4] > At the same time, Kishi repeatedly expressed a disdain for Chinese people as impure and unclean.[32] One of Kishi's closest friends and business partners, the yakuza gangster Yoshio Kodama, summed up his boss's thinking about the Chinese as follows: "We Japanese are like pure water in a bucket; different from the Chinese who are like the filthy Yangtze river. But be careful. If even the smallest amount of shit gets into our bucket, we become totally polluted. Since all the toilets in China empty into the Yangtze, the Chinese are soiled forever. We, however, must maintain our purity".[33] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi
- chrischen 4y ago
  There's definitely a culture of brothels that still exists thats pretty foreign to the West. You won't really hear about it because Japanese people don't just offer there stories up to foreigners... but I've had sources inform me of places where people can go for orgies (in a way Americans may casually visit a strip club which is a toned down version of this) and I believe in some cases can even be expensed to the business as entertainment.
  - implements 4y ago
    Watching “Midnight Diner” on Netflix I was struck by a much more casual acceptance of stripping and prostitution than I would have expected.
    - longtimegoogler 4y ago
      I'm not sure how much that reflects general attitudes. That show is also set in Shinjuku which I believe houses a lot of strip clubs and other similar activites.
  - uwagar 4y ago
    interesting. any books or websites to find out more about this culture?
    - petre 4y ago
      I hadn't realized but it's sometimes even mentioned in some of Haruki Murakami's stories.
  - distantaidenn 4y ago
    Yeah the orgy places are one of the worst kept secrets here. Everyone knows they exists, but it's not really spoken of. I had a friend (Japanese) that was invited and he just explained it as being weird. The place he went to just had glass rooms full of naked folks doing things naked people tend to do together. It was a combination of an orgy and a voyeur event. Underground life in Japan can get pretty extreme. Typically foreigners aren't privy or allowed in such environments. Not saying it doesn't happen, though.
Herodotus38 4y ago
The article ends implying the Japanese media is wrong by downplaying and leaving out the name of the church, but when I was reading more on wikipedia about the Unification Church they referenced this article from the media, which I will need to translate but would seem to refute this: https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/97322 https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/97322 For those who are in Japan is that a good take by the author of the submitted article? Is (edit: it fair to say) the media hiding the connection?
- elcamino44 4y ago
  I am in Japan, have been watching the news, and this is the first time I’d seen the Unification Church named as the motive. My impression has also been that the domestic media is downplaying the connection.
- ETHisso2017 4y ago
  Gendai is regarded in Japan as a "tabloid" (think National Enquirer). So the mainstream media in Japan can be accused of hiding the connection. More explanation here: https://twitter.com/wdavidmarx/status/1545956836310159360 https://twitter.com/wdavidmarx/status/1545956836310159360
  - Herodotus38 4y ago
    Thank you, I am sure there is a lot of context I don’t understand as an outsider.
- numpad0 4y ago
  Naming a cult on media is a taboo in Japan, for fear of retaliations and verbal abuses than as common courtesy. There even used to be a P2P app called Perfect Dark, known in a... different... name early on, so as to make it 'immune to police prosecution'. Eventually the name changed to what it is, and stories of police working on it did start appearing. That was 2010s.
  - pppq 4y ago
tkgally 4y ago
The linked article ends with this: “Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the ‘religious group’ that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation.” It’s important to note that the Japanese media is not monolithic. It’s true that the major newspapers (Asahi, Yomiuri, Mainichi, Nikkei, etc.) and the broadcaster NHK do not, as of this moment, seem to have named the religious group yet; nor do they seem to have explained why they are not naming it. However, the group is named in online news stories by some of the weekly magazines [1, 2, 3] and will presumably be in their print editions within a few days. It’s all over Twitter etc., too. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20220710064519/https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2022/07101059/?all=1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220710064519/https://www.daily... [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20220710061754/https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/97322 https://web.archive.org/web/20220710061754/https://gendai.is... [3] https://web.archive.org/web/20220710062542/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/7516906241ff0df152c139cc31ed99d970987951 https://web.archive.org/web/20220710062542/https://news.yaho...
- ETHisso2017 4y ago
  Why aren't the major Japanese media outlets covering this angle before the polls close in Japan's upper house elections (today)?
  - SllX 4y ago
    Isn’t it controversial whether or not he did have a connection? There is a value of free speech in Japan but it’s not exactly like America’s, and I think the Japanese media would mostly avoid stirring the pot immediately prior to an election, and especially for a claim that may be unfounded. I won’t argue whether their approach is the right one or not and this is just my opinion, but that seems like that would be why the major papers wouldn’t want to cover this angle to me.
    - grapeskin 4y ago
      Controversial in the sense that he’s on video as a presenter in one of their events. It’s as controversial as the My Pillow guy having a connection to a political party. We don’t know whether he literally believes in what he’s saying, but we do know he’s being paid to speak for them. But whether this is the cult he was killed for is yet to be confirmed. He also had heavy involvement with Soka Gakkai through his alignment with the Komeito party. They also drain people of their cash.
jsnk 4y ago
I would like to wait more for more information. This speculation seems incomplete and premature, and in the end, likely, inaccurate. Political assassinations rarely stem from one particular situation or event, but accumulation of beliefs and world view over a long period of time. He may stated his disdain for Abe to be his connection with the religious organization, but that can easily be just one of many reasons that he believes have re-enforced him to commit assassination. The assassin went through a lot of trouble and difficulty building his own gun and ammos. I think it's probably more likely that there's more political and ideological motivation behind his action than just Abe's roundabout connection to the church that ruined his mother. It's just too speculative and unlikely for now until there's more evidence.
- g5095 4y ago
  This is a great point, the 'motivation' seems incredibly shallow and one dimensional.
- thematrixturtle 4y ago
  The assassin stated that he killed Abe due to his association with a "certain group", so this theory lines up nicely. Of course it's all speculation until we hear from the suspect themselves. Update: the suspect has now confirmed. https://japantoday.com/category/crime/update2-abe-shooter-says-his-mother-bankrupted-by-donating-to-religious-group https://japantoday.com/category/crime/update2-abe-shooter-sa...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
cde-v 4y ago
ngcc_hk 4y ago
Do not quite get the last line. All democratic countries have church played a part and individual tried to … let us say Catholic Church and scandals of … no politicians involved totally ? The downplay is odd. But that might be cautious. We will see. Democracy … not see what reflect ….
g5095 4y ago
"Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the 'religious group' that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation." I'm struggling to understand the author's bias here (there clearly is one), are they claiming that the poor reflection on Japan as a democracy is: - that the media has not reported an unsubstantiated 'speculation'? (sounds like good journalism?) - that that politicians have religious beliefs? (separation of religion and state shouldn't forbid religious people holding office, just from mandating it) - that the murderer was anti-religiously motivated? (sign of a hate crime)
- shard972 4y ago
  The 3rd I believe. The point of the article is to show Abe's connection to the church through political alliances developed since his grandfather and the Japanese media is at some level seeking to downplay the prevalence of anti-religious extremism.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
differentView 4y ago
Does the Unification Church have more influence than Soka Gakkai in Japanese politics?
- Legogris 4y ago
  Officially and publicly, no. Behind the scenes - who knows (not meant to be suggestive).
nier 4y ago
> He adds that Shintaro Abe, Kishi’s son and Shinzo Abe’s father, “depended upon ‘Moonies’ in his election campaigns.” They got the family situation wrong. Shintaro Abe is Nobusuke Kishi’s son-in-law not his son. From Wikipedia: > Shintaro Abe married Yoko Kishi [ja], daughter of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, in 1951. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shintaro_Abe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shintaro_Abe
- samtheprogram 4y ago
  Seems like the article has been fixed already. That was fast.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mellosouls 4y ago
Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the ‘religious group’ that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation. It is quite striking in the UK and US how mainstream media will be remarkably coy about identifying the cultural background of some criminals while straight off the bat into condemnatory opinion pieces with others who will resonate more as bogeymen with their readers.
- asveikau 4y ago
  - archerx 4y ago
    Maybe he wants everyone to be treated equally and not be treated differently based on their race in the news. I know it’s shocking concept to most people.
    - sacrosancty 4y ago
      Often it's about being Muslim. People understandably do want to know that because it shows something about what else people with similar beliefs might do.
  - Mandelmus 4y ago
    Your thinly veiled accusation of racism notwithstanding, I don’t think there’s anything morally deplorable in thinking the media should help the public build a more statistically representative model of the world we live in, regardless of the cultural background of criminals. As an example, I don’t think the demographic of young white guys fare too well in the mass shooter statistic, but omitting this reality isn’t of public benefit.
    - Aeolun 4y ago
      Hmm, if you meet a young black man, it’s more likely you will be shot, but if you meet a young white man, it’s more likely a lot of people will get shot.
ezekiel11 4y ago
Nobusuke Kishi was a class A war criminal hmmm
- cpncrunch 4y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi
  - batch12 4y ago
    > After World War II, Kishi was imprisoned for three years as a suspected Class A war criminal. However, the U.S. government did not charge, try, or convict him, and eventually released him as they considered Kishi to be the best man to lead a post-war Japan in a pro-American direction.
    - ezekiel11 4y ago
      [flagged]
achow 4y ago
TL;DR Shinzo Abe was associated with a religious group 'Church of Unification'... that motivated Tetsuya Yamagami to target and kill Shinzo Abe. Yamagami told investigators that he blamed a “religious group” (i.e. the Unification Church) for inducing his mother to donate so much money that it bankrupted the family. He initially prepared to kill a church leader, but gave up after deciding it was too difficult. Yamagami then turned his focus on Abe, whom he was aware promoted the church at some level.
- pyinstallwoes 4y ago
  Isn’t this nearly identical to the real life events journaled by a reporter in Tokyo from the 90s? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Vice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Vice
  - permo-w 4y ago
    besides being about crime in Japan, I can't see any similarities in the article
    - pyinstallwoes 4y ago
      - permo-w 4y ago
        the words you used were "nearly identical". if you squint, there are some very general passing similarities. if your original comment had said that this shares some themes with Tokyo Vice, I don't think you'd be getting downvoted
- pppq 4y ago
  - swarnie 4y ago
    Did you roll a new account just to justify murder?
KaiserPro 4y ago
This is a lot of words for the basic conjecture that he was killed by/for being a moonie. The problem with this reporting is that it takes the killer's supposed words at face value. This is a big risk, especially as at this stage we are not entirely certain that those words are accurate. Now, this may eventually appear to be the case, but the level of certainty presented in this article is unfounded.
- rtpg 4y ago
  This article is within the more general context, but we have the words of the assassin, discussion by the police of not wanting to discuss the church specifically for the “obvious” reasons, the mother of the assassin being identified by the church as being a member… “it happened because of X” is maybe very strong but lots of the story does align and is being corroborated.
  - kragen 4y ago
    What were the words of the assassin?
    - atwood22 4y ago
      > “My family joined that religion and our life became harder after donating money to the organization,” Tetsuya Yamagami, who is unemployed, was quoted by the sources as telling police. “I had wanted to target the top official of the organization, but it was difficult. So, I took aim at Abe since I believed that he was tied (to the organization). I wanted to kill him.” https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14665352 https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14665352
      - kragen 4y ago
        Thank you! But, that seems to not say which religion it is?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
cvccvroomvroom 4y ago
The Moonies, often represented in America by some unfortunate Korean boy or girl, beg for money at American universities in exchange for food and lodging. It's essentially human trafficking and indentured servitude because they're trapped in a foreign country. So, if see someone who doesn't speak English who shoved a photo montage flip book clipboard of deprivation in front of you, think twice before giving them money because you'd be supporting the late George Bush Sr's 2nd-favorite cult. They also own The Washington Times and United Press International (UPI). And True World Foods, which runs a major portion of the sushi trade in the US. Numerous other innocent-sounding organizations in many, many sports, interest groups, and industries. Net worth around $2 billion.
- cuteboy19 4y ago
  Is it a requirement for every Asian cult to own a few American newspapers? I know of two others
  - hunglee2 4y ago
    no requirement, just smart business
    - photochemsyn 4y ago
      Last I checked American newspapers were not profit centers, so business is likely not the motivation - other than perhaps the value of controlling media in terms of propaganda, i.e. narrative control, which may be of value to other businesses owned by the entity. (Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post, for example, is only a 'good business decision' in the context of providing a platform that enhances the business interests of Amazon (which seeks to avoid unionization) and AWS (which seeks expanded government contracts)).
      - hunglee2 4y ago
        your second point was the main point in my admittedly overly cryptic comment. Narrative control + amplification power + even brand awareness = revenue opportunity. For example, The Epoch Times, the media mouthpiece of Falun Gong, promotes Shen Yun, the Chinese Dance troupe showcasing the 'beauty of China before Communism'. Propaganda and Profit need each other
giantg2 4y ago
"Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the “religious group” that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation." Because they aren't stupid. When you name names and provide ample details you have given the killer things that encourage others - infamy, a platform to spread their message, etc. In the US, we know that providing these details, such as the killer's name, and even the media's hyper focus on the event contribute to copy cats. Why don't we create a law to prevent the media from naming names of mass killers or assassins and giving them a platform? After all, we know that this will save lives. Edit: why disagree without reply? No right is absolute. There are already restrictions on speech, and that same reasoning is what allows gun control. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296697/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296697/
- andrew_ 4y ago
  My guess as to why you're not getting replies because the content of your comment is highly polarizing, contains assertions as absolutes rather than points of debate, and would likely result in camp vs. camp which will play out ad infinitum.
  - giantg2 4y ago
    I can see that the topic is generally polarizing and that my first sentence is assuming and could be better. I do ask a question of why we don't have a law (or really just have people sue over the coverage contributing to the act). The part about knowing that sensationalized and detailed reports contributes is a pretty solid fact (theory, analysis, and anecdotal admissions from copycats).
- 15155 4y ago
  Pen the statue for us, what would one look like that would stop this type of release of names?
  - giantg2 4y ago
    If you read the study, there is a link to the FBI guidelines. Essentially, don't name the shooter. It would also be beneficial not to linger on one negative event for a week or more, but that's not as easy to limit. Ideally we would want journalists and networks to practice responsibility and leave out the name voluntarily, but it seems the drive for profit makes it necessary to step in with a legal solution. https://www.dontnamethem.org/ https://www.dontnamethem.org/
AzzieElbab 4y ago
Am I naive to believe that an article with such title would at least looked into assassins claims to begin with? Like how much was donated for starters, history of mental illnesses, gambling, and so on. Instead we start with Nixon and Kissinger
JohnJamesRambo 4y ago
Articles like this are why I come to HN.
suction 4y ago
Japanese people I know are adamant that Abe had no ties or did ever voice support for the Moon sect, ever. I am now wondering if Abe had kept it secret and the shooter somehow found out.
- hackerlight 4y ago
  I read he gave a speech there once. Maybe the killer heard about it and, combined with whatever mental illness he has, interpreted it as something more than it was.
  - boeingUH60 4y ago
    In the US, Mike Pompeo (ex Secretary of State), Mike Pence (ex Vice President), and Trump (ex-President) have also given speeches to an offshoot of the Moonies...wild. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/pence-pompeo-headlined-event-mounted-by-unification-church/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/pence-pompeo-he... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-moonies-speech-unifaction-church-b1918750.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic...
- toyg 4y ago
  If the cult ruined his life and he took it out on the first politician he could somehow link to them, the problem is not whether such politician really had such relationship, but the fact that such idea was credible in the first place. Are cults in Japan tolerated a bit too much, leaving them free to ruin's people lives? Are politicians just sitting by, or even enabling such cults? Those should be the questions people have to ask, if the aim is to avoid a repeat. This is particularly true when you look at the fact that such cults were directly responsible for past terrorist activity in Japan.
  - tartoran 4y ago
    Probably cults freedoms are tolerated for votes
  - rasz 4y ago
samatman 4y ago
What is this Shingetsu News Agency? They don't have an English Wikipedia page and searching for them turns up only their own content. Are they affiliated with communism? North Korea? American progressive movements? None of the above? Do we know that this isn't two cults bickering?
- QuarterReptile 4y ago
  In any case, the article was very light on citations for the many accusations thrown.
  - gwern 4y ago
    The main source seems to be "Kishi and Corruption: An Anatomy of the 1955 System", Samuels 2001: https://www.gwern.net/docs/japanese/2001-12-samuels-kishiandcorruptionananatomyofthe1955system.html https://www.gwern.net/docs/japanese/2001-12-samuels-kishiand... "Kuromaku and the Underworld" section. (Aside from the lack of proper citation, tracking down a copy proved fairly challenging, so I have to wonder if OP has actually read it.)
rramadass 4y ago
I don't completely buy the "religious group" reason given by the assassin. It might just be a convenient cover story for any "State Actors" behind the assassination. Shinzo Abe had been a real thorn in the side of China and North Korea by pushing a hard-line approach towards them. He had tremendous worldwide political/economic clout and was instrumental in establishing the "Pacific Quad" as a real challenge to China and North Korea. Even after stepping down he had been active in drumming up support for his assertive stance against them which obviously wasn't to their liking. It will be interesting to see what the investigators uncover over time.
- resoluteteeth 4y ago
  Abe was hardly the most anti-China or anti-North Korea MP, and he was no longer prime minister for years anyway. Not only would China or North Korea not get anything out of assassinating him, if they were discovered to have done so this would make Japan even more anti-China and anti-North Korea. So this theory doesn't really seem that likely.
- Jensson 4y ago
  How would China or North Korea convince a Japanese soldier to openly kill his leader and face death penalty? There is very little social exchange between these countries, extremely few foreigners speaks Japanese, I just don't see how they could indoctrinate him to such a degree that he would give up his own life for that cause. Extremely few people give up their life for a cause even when they grew up in that society, so I really don't think that this is plausible at all.
  - fma 4y ago
    Well, this is my fear of TikTok. We've seen how Facebook and Twitter (and certsin news media) polarized/brainwashed Americans in convincing Obama is Muslim and not born in the US through crude algorithms to increase clicks. Imagine TikTok, who isn't just driven by ad revenue but the need to keep the Chinese government happy.
    - 4y ago
enqk 4y ago
I don’t quite agree with amplifying the political or personal message of a murderer, as it seems like rewarding the act with publicity, encouraging more of it.
dav_Oz 4y ago
As an incidental remark: I find it remarkable that on the surface I now know of three G7 countries / liberal democracies where the PM/President is the (grand)son of a PM/President himself. Bush Sr - Bush Jr Pierre Trudeau - Justin Trudeau Nobusuke Kishi - (Shintaro Abe; FM) - Shinzo Abe [Honorary mention: France with "Le Pen" both father & daughter made it to the second round in the presidential elections (2002; 2017 and 2022)]
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- geysersam 4y ago
  It's ridiculous. I'd never vote for a president's relative as the next president. It's a matter of hygiene. There must be other equally (more) suitable candidates. Voting for relatives gives us presidents like Bush Jr.
  - mcv 4y ago
    Having a familiar name should become a negative instead of a positive for a politician. Voters should assume they're just riding their famous relative's coattails unless clearly proven otherwise.
- bigDinosaur 4y ago
  You get automatic name recognition by being the child of a former leader, and that applies even if the former leader was unpopular. The hardest thing in national politics is probably becoming, essentially, known in the first place, so they start with a colossal advantage.
  - Brendinooo 4y ago
    This, and I’d imagine politics is like anything else: you would really benefit from having people who’ve been there before to help you navigate. It’s the same reason why a lot of children of pro athletes become pro athletes.
mc32 4y ago
This is a strange article with an odd angle. They guy initially wanted to avenge the family’s misfortune by targeting someone high up in the church which he blamed for unscrupulously taking their money, when they proved too difficult (inaccessible) he turned his attention to mr Abe who was associated with the church and was out campaigning making for an easy target. The article starts with an arc where a friendship two generations ago directly lead to a grandsons death. It’s a tool and trope for prose, but not apt for journalism. It’d be like an article about mr Pelosi’s accident starting off with the Porsche company’s founding and how that eventually resulted in drunken driving accident by mr Pelosi. There is lots to unpack and discover regarding the assassination of mr Abe but I feel this journalist is grinding some axe on the way there.
- xbar 4y ago
  This is repeatedly reported news, not one journalist. According to Japanese police, the shooter claimed Abe's religious group association was the motive. At least two other papers have linked that group to the Family Federation (formerly Unification Church) and the Family Federation issued a PR newswire about the shooting yesterday after refusing to comment. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/09/shinzo-abe-body-tokyo-japan-election-campaign-nara https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/09/shinzo-abe-bod... https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-tetsuya-yamagami-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-tetsuya-yamaga... https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2022-07-10/motives-abe-religious-group-6607822.html https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2022-07-10/mot... Here is the Church's statement: https://www.djournal.com/unification-church-statement-on-the-assassination-of-former-japanese-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/article_822f401c-79b0-52e2-9800-4e565ac03676.html https://www.djournal.com/unification-church-statement-on-the...
  - kerryoco 4y ago
    it's one thing to say we have a motive for the shooter, another thing to say that his actions were a rational line of causality as the OP appears to do
istanbul7 4y ago
crikeyjoe 4y ago
lettergram 4y ago
That’s some top level conspiracy theory. First, Who shoots someone just because of “connections”? Why not go after the church itself? Further; this person got two shots off over a 4-5 second period. Just walked up to one of the most powerful politicians in Japan. I personally feel there’s something more to this — gross negligence or a conspiracy idk. The communist opposition was actively calling for his overthrow by any means and calling him hitler (reminds me of the USA frankly). China has been celebrating his death. Even if we assume this person believed this (highly speculative), then it was likely amplified by Chinese propaganda. China, USA, Russia, etc is known to support opposition parties and amplify conspiracy theories to support their aims.
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  > Why not go after the church itself? Allegedly, the shooter's original target was an official of the church. > I personally feel there’s something more to this — gross negligence or a conspiracy idk. This is an official who has been out of power for a while now, and is known to be in declining health, at a local event, in a country where political violence has been low in recent years, and a country with exceptionally low crime rates. You could totally imagine security being lax and complacent given the circumstances.
- jchiu1106 4y ago
  > China has been celebrating his death. You mean some people on Weibo? Lol. It's also not surprising that some people would view him unfavorably when he denied Japanese war crimes in the past.
spurgu 4y ago
Site is getting hugged. https://archive.ph/2S6PD https://archive.ph/2S6PD
duxup 4y ago
Isn’t it a little early to be so sure exactly why this happened?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
florin_g 4y ago
For the sake of objectivity, Shinzo Abe was killed by Tetsuya Yamagami and there is no excuse or justification for this murder.
influxmoment 4y ago
retrocryptid 4y ago
oh man. Nobusuke Kishi's wikipedia page is a must read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi

495 points by hunglee2 4y ago

ETHisso2017 4y ago

Nobusuke Kishi (Abe's grandfather) has an extremely interesting backstory: > As a self-described "playboy of the Eastern world", Kishi was known during his four years in Manchukuo for his lavish spending amid much drinking, gambling, and womanizing.[34] Kishi spent almost all of his time in Manchukuo's capital, Hsinking (modern Changchun, China) with the exception of monthly trips to Dalian on the world famous Asia Express railroad line, where he indulged in his passion for women in alcohol- and sex-drenched weekends.[29] When not visiting the brothels of Manchuria, Kishi was demanding sex from the waitresses who served him at the expensive restaurants he patronized. When he was locked up in Sugamo prison in 1946 awaiting trial, he reminisced about his Manchukuo years: “I came so much, it was hard to clean it all up”.[29] According to Driscoll, "photographs and written descriptions of Kishi during this period never fail to depict a giddy exuberance: laughing and joking while doling out money during the day and looking forward to drinking and fornicating at night."[35] Kishi was able to afford his hedonistic, free-spending lifestyle as he had control over millions of yen with virtually no oversight, alongside being deeply involved in and profiting from the opium trade.[30] Before returning to Japan in October 1939, Kishi is reported to have advised his colleagues in the Manchukuo government about corruption: "Political funds should be accepted only after they have passed through a 'filter' and been 'cleansed'. If a problem arises, the 'filter' itself will then become the center of the affair, while the politician, who has consumed the 'clean water', will not be implicated. Political funds become the basis of corruption scandals only when they have not been sufficiently 'filtered.'"[4] > At the same time, Kishi repeatedly expressed a disdain for Chinese people as impure and unclean.[32] One of Kishi's closest friends and business partners, the yakuza gangster Yoshio Kodama, summed up his boss's thinking about the Chinese as follows: "We Japanese are like pure water in a bucket; different from the Chinese who are like the filthy Yangtze river. But be careful. If even the smallest amount of shit gets into our bucket, we become totally polluted. Since all the toilets in China empty into the Yangtze, the Chinese are soiled forever. We, however, must maintain our purity".[33] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi

chrischen 4y ago
There's definitely a culture of brothels that still exists thats pretty foreign to the West. You won't really hear about it because Japanese people don't just offer there stories up to foreigners... but I've had sources inform me of places where people can go for orgies (in a way Americans may casually visit a strip club which is a toned down version of this) and I believe in some cases can even be expensed to the business as entertainment.
- implements 4y ago
  Watching “Midnight Diner” on Netflix I was struck by a much more casual acceptance of stripping and prostitution than I would have expected.
  - longtimegoogler 4y ago
    I'm not sure how much that reflects general attitudes. That show is also set in Shinjuku which I believe houses a lot of strip clubs and other similar activites.
- uwagar 4y ago
  interesting. any books or websites to find out more about this culture?
  - petre 4y ago
    I hadn't realized but it's sometimes even mentioned in some of Haruki Murakami's stories.
- distantaidenn 4y ago
  Yeah the orgy places are one of the worst kept secrets here. Everyone knows they exists, but it's not really spoken of. I had a friend (Japanese) that was invited and he just explained it as being weird. The place he went to just had glass rooms full of naked folks doing things naked people tend to do together. It was a combination of an orgy and a voyeur event. Underground life in Japan can get pretty extreme. Typically foreigners aren't privy or allowed in such environments. Not saying it doesn't happen, though.

Herodotus38 4y ago

The article ends implying the Japanese media is wrong by downplaying and leaving out the name of the church, but when I was reading more on wikipedia about the Unification Church they referenced this article from the media, which I will need to translate but would seem to refute this: https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/97322 https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/97322 For those who are in Japan is that a good take by the author of the submitted article? Is (edit: it fair to say) the media hiding the connection?

elcamino44 4y ago
I am in Japan, have been watching the news, and this is the first time I’d seen the Unification Church named as the motive. My impression has also been that the domestic media is downplaying the connection.
ETHisso2017 4y ago
Gendai is regarded in Japan as a "tabloid" (think National Enquirer). So the mainstream media in Japan can be accused of hiding the connection. More explanation here: https://twitter.com/wdavidmarx/status/1545956836310159360 https://twitter.com/wdavidmarx/status/1545956836310159360
- Herodotus38 4y ago
  Thank you, I am sure there is a lot of context I don’t understand as an outsider.
numpad0 4y ago
Naming a cult on media is a taboo in Japan, for fear of retaliations and verbal abuses than as common courtesy. There even used to be a P2P app called Perfect Dark, known in a... different... name early on, so as to make it 'immune to police prosecution'. Eventually the name changed to what it is, and stories of police working on it did start appearing. That was 2010s.
- pppq 4y ago

tkgally 4y ago

The linked article ends with this: “Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the ‘religious group’ that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation.” It’s important to note that the Japanese media is not monolithic. It’s true that the major newspapers (Asahi, Yomiuri, Mainichi, Nikkei, etc.) and the broadcaster NHK do not, as of this moment, seem to have named the religious group yet; nor do they seem to have explained why they are not naming it. However, the group is named in online news stories by some of the weekly magazines [1, 2, 3] and will presumably be in their print editions within a few days. It’s all over Twitter etc., too. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20220710064519/https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2022/07101059/?all=1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220710064519/https://www.daily... [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20220710061754/https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/97322 https://web.archive.org/web/20220710061754/https://gendai.is... [3] https://web.archive.org/web/20220710062542/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/7516906241ff0df152c139cc31ed99d970987951 https://web.archive.org/web/20220710062542/https://news.yaho...

ETHisso2017 4y ago
Why aren't the major Japanese media outlets covering this angle before the polls close in Japan's upper house elections (today)?
- SllX 4y ago
  Isn’t it controversial whether or not he did have a connection? There is a value of free speech in Japan but it’s not exactly like America’s, and I think the Japanese media would mostly avoid stirring the pot immediately prior to an election, and especially for a claim that may be unfounded. I won’t argue whether their approach is the right one or not and this is just my opinion, but that seems like that would be why the major papers wouldn’t want to cover this angle to me.
  - grapeskin 4y ago
    Controversial in the sense that he’s on video as a presenter in one of their events. It’s as controversial as the My Pillow guy having a connection to a political party. We don’t know whether he literally believes in what he’s saying, but we do know he’s being paid to speak for them. But whether this is the cult he was killed for is yet to be confirmed. He also had heavy involvement with Soka Gakkai through his alignment with the Komeito party. They also drain people of their cash.

jsnk 4y ago

I would like to wait more for more information. This speculation seems incomplete and premature, and in the end, likely, inaccurate. Political assassinations rarely stem from one particular situation or event, but accumulation of beliefs and world view over a long period of time. He may stated his disdain for Abe to be his connection with the religious organization, but that can easily be just one of many reasons that he believes have re-enforced him to commit assassination. The assassin went through a lot of trouble and difficulty building his own gun and ammos. I think it's probably more likely that there's more political and ideological motivation behind his action than just Abe's roundabout connection to the church that ruined his mother. It's just too speculative and unlikely for now until there's more evidence.

g5095 4y ago
This is a great point, the 'motivation' seems incredibly shallow and one dimensional.
thematrixturtle 4y ago
The assassin stated that he killed Abe due to his association with a "certain group", so this theory lines up nicely. Of course it's all speculation until we hear from the suspect themselves. Update: the suspect has now confirmed. https://japantoday.com/category/crime/update2-abe-shooter-says-his-mother-bankrupted-by-donating-to-religious-group https://japantoday.com/category/crime/update2-abe-shooter-sa...
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

cde-v 4y ago

ngcc_hk 4y ago

Do not quite get the last line. All democratic countries have church played a part and individual tried to … let us say Catholic Church and scandals of … no politicians involved totally ? The downplay is odd. But that might be cautious. We will see. Democracy … not see what reflect ….

g5095 4y ago

"Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the 'religious group' that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation." I'm struggling to understand the author's bias here (there clearly is one), are they claiming that the poor reflection on Japan as a democracy is: - that the media has not reported an unsubstantiated 'speculation'? (sounds like good journalism?) - that that politicians have religious beliefs? (separation of religion and state shouldn't forbid religious people holding office, just from mandating it) - that the murderer was anti-religiously motivated? (sign of a hate crime)

shard972 4y ago
The 3rd I believe. The point of the article is to show Abe's connection to the church through political alliances developed since his grandfather and the Japanese media is at some level seeking to downplay the prevalence of anti-religious extremism.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

differentView 4y ago

Does the Unification Church have more influence than Soka Gakkai in Japanese politics?

Legogris 4y ago
Officially and publicly, no. Behind the scenes - who knows (not meant to be suggestive).

nier 4y ago

> He adds that Shintaro Abe, Kishi’s son and Shinzo Abe’s father, “depended upon ‘Moonies’ in his election campaigns.” They got the family situation wrong. Shintaro Abe is Nobusuke Kishi’s son-in-law not his son. From Wikipedia: > Shintaro Abe married Yoko Kishi [ja], daughter of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, in 1951. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shintaro_Abe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shintaro_Abe

samtheprogram 4y ago
Seems like the article has been fixed already. That was fast.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

mellosouls 4y ago

Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the ‘religious group’ that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation. It is quite striking in the UK and US how mainstream media will be remarkably coy about identifying the cultural background of some criminals while straight off the bat into condemnatory opinion pieces with others who will resonate more as bogeymen with their readers.

asveikau 4y ago
- archerx 4y ago
  Maybe he wants everyone to be treated equally and not be treated differently based on their race in the news. I know it’s shocking concept to most people.
  - sacrosancty 4y ago
    Often it's about being Muslim. People understandably do want to know that because it shows something about what else people with similar beliefs might do.
- Mandelmus 4y ago
  Your thinly veiled accusation of racism notwithstanding, I don’t think there’s anything morally deplorable in thinking the media should help the public build a more statistically representative model of the world we live in, regardless of the cultural background of criminals. As an example, I don’t think the demographic of young white guys fare too well in the mass shooter statistic, but omitting this reality isn’t of public benefit.
  - Aeolun 4y ago
    Hmm, if you meet a young black man, it’s more likely you will be shot, but if you meet a young white man, it’s more likely a lot of people will get shot.

ezekiel11 4y ago

Nobusuke Kishi was a class A war criminal hmmm

cpncrunch 4y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi
- batch12 4y ago
  > After World War II, Kishi was imprisoned for three years as a suspected Class A war criminal. However, the U.S. government did not charge, try, or convict him, and eventually released him as they considered Kishi to be the best man to lead a post-war Japan in a pro-American direction.
  - ezekiel11 4y ago
    [flagged]

achow 4y ago

TL;DR Shinzo Abe was associated with a religious group 'Church of Unification'... that motivated Tetsuya Yamagami to target and kill Shinzo Abe. Yamagami told investigators that he blamed a “religious group” (i.e. the Unification Church) for inducing his mother to donate so much money that it bankrupted the family. He initially prepared to kill a church leader, but gave up after deciding it was too difficult. Yamagami then turned his focus on Abe, whom he was aware promoted the church at some level.

pyinstallwoes 4y ago
Isn’t this nearly identical to the real life events journaled by a reporter in Tokyo from the 90s? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Vice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Vice
- permo-w 4y ago
  besides being about crime in Japan, I can't see any similarities in the article
  - pyinstallwoes 4y ago
    - permo-w 4y ago
      the words you used were "nearly identical". if you squint, there are some very general passing similarities. if your original comment had said that this shares some themes with Tokyo Vice, I don't think you'd be getting downvoted
pppq 4y ago
- swarnie 4y ago
  Did you roll a new account just to justify murder?

KaiserPro 4y ago

This is a lot of words for the basic conjecture that he was killed by/for being a moonie. The problem with this reporting is that it takes the killer's supposed words at face value. This is a big risk, especially as at this stage we are not entirely certain that those words are accurate. Now, this may eventually appear to be the case, but the level of certainty presented in this article is unfounded.

rtpg 4y ago
This article is within the more general context, but we have the words of the assassin, discussion by the police of not wanting to discuss the church specifically for the “obvious” reasons, the mother of the assassin being identified by the church as being a member… “it happened because of X” is maybe very strong but lots of the story does align and is being corroborated.
- kragen 4y ago
  What were the words of the assassin?
  - atwood22 4y ago
    > “My family joined that religion and our life became harder after donating money to the organization,” Tetsuya Yamagami, who is unemployed, was quoted by the sources as telling police. “I had wanted to target the top official of the organization, but it was difficult. So, I took aim at Abe since I believed that he was tied (to the organization). I wanted to kill him.” https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14665352 https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14665352
    - kragen 4y ago
      Thank you! But, that seems to not say which religion it is?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

cvccvroomvroom 4y ago

The Moonies, often represented in America by some unfortunate Korean boy or girl, beg for money at American universities in exchange for food and lodging. It's essentially human trafficking and indentured servitude because they're trapped in a foreign country. So, if see someone who doesn't speak English who shoved a photo montage flip book clipboard of deprivation in front of you, think twice before giving them money because you'd be supporting the late George Bush Sr's 2nd-favorite cult. They also own The Washington Times and United Press International (UPI). And True World Foods, which runs a major portion of the sushi trade in the US. Numerous other innocent-sounding organizations in many, many sports, interest groups, and industries. Net worth around $2 billion.

cuteboy19 4y ago
Is it a requirement for every Asian cult to own a few American newspapers? I know of two others
- hunglee2 4y ago
  no requirement, just smart business
  - photochemsyn 4y ago
    Last I checked American newspapers were not profit centers, so business is likely not the motivation - other than perhaps the value of controlling media in terms of propaganda, i.e. narrative control, which may be of value to other businesses owned by the entity. (Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post, for example, is only a 'good business decision' in the context of providing a platform that enhances the business interests of Amazon (which seeks to avoid unionization) and AWS (which seeks expanded government contracts)).
    - hunglee2 4y ago
      your second point was the main point in my admittedly overly cryptic comment. Narrative control + amplification power + even brand awareness = revenue opportunity. For example, The Epoch Times, the media mouthpiece of Falun Gong, promotes Shen Yun, the Chinese Dance troupe showcasing the 'beauty of China before Communism'. Propaganda and Profit need each other

giantg2 4y ago

"Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the “religious group” that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation." Because they aren't stupid. When you name names and provide ample details you have given the killer things that encourage others - infamy, a platform to spread their message, etc. In the US, we know that providing these details, such as the killer's name, and even the media's hyper focus on the event contribute to copy cats. Why don't we create a law to prevent the media from naming names of mass killers or assassins and giving them a platform? After all, we know that this will save lives. Edit: why disagree without reply? No right is absolute. There are already restrictions on speech, and that same reasoning is what allows gun control. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296697/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296697/

andrew_ 4y ago
My guess as to why you're not getting replies because the content of your comment is highly polarizing, contains assertions as absolutes rather than points of debate, and would likely result in camp vs. camp which will play out ad infinitum.
- giantg2 4y ago
  I can see that the topic is generally polarizing and that my first sentence is assuming and could be better. I do ask a question of why we don't have a law (or really just have people sue over the coverage contributing to the act). The part about knowing that sensationalized and detailed reports contributes is a pretty solid fact (theory, analysis, and anecdotal admissions from copycats).
15155 4y ago
Pen the statue for us, what would one look like that would stop this type of release of names?
- giantg2 4y ago
  If you read the study, there is a link to the FBI guidelines. Essentially, don't name the shooter. It would also be beneficial not to linger on one negative event for a week or more, but that's not as easy to limit. Ideally we would want journalists and networks to practice responsibility and leave out the name voluntarily, but it seems the drive for profit makes it necessary to step in with a legal solution. https://www.dontnamethem.org/ https://www.dontnamethem.org/

AzzieElbab 4y ago

Am I naive to believe that an article with such title would at least looked into assassins claims to begin with? Like how much was donated for starters, history of mental illnesses, gambling, and so on. Instead we start with Nixon and Kissinger

JohnJamesRambo 4y ago

Articles like this are why I come to HN.

suction 4y ago

Japanese people I know are adamant that Abe had no ties or did ever voice support for the Moon sect, ever. I am now wondering if Abe had kept it secret and the shooter somehow found out.

hackerlight 4y ago
I read he gave a speech there once. Maybe the killer heard about it and, combined with whatever mental illness he has, interpreted it as something more than it was.
- boeingUH60 4y ago
  In the US, Mike Pompeo (ex Secretary of State), Mike Pence (ex Vice President), and Trump (ex-President) have also given speeches to an offshoot of the Moonies...wild. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/pence-pompeo-headlined-event-mounted-by-unification-church/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/pence-pompeo-he... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-moonies-speech-unifaction-church-b1918750.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic...
toyg 4y ago
If the cult ruined his life and he took it out on the first politician he could somehow link to them, the problem is not whether such politician really had such relationship, but the fact that such idea was credible in the first place. Are cults in Japan tolerated a bit too much, leaving them free to ruin's people lives? Are politicians just sitting by, or even enabling such cults? Those should be the questions people have to ask, if the aim is to avoid a repeat. This is particularly true when you look at the fact that such cults were directly responsible for past terrorist activity in Japan.
- tartoran 4y ago
  Probably cults freedoms are tolerated for votes
- rasz 4y ago

samatman 4y ago

What is this Shingetsu News Agency? They don't have an English Wikipedia page and searching for them turns up only their own content. Are they affiliated with communism? North Korea? American progressive movements? None of the above? Do we know that this isn't two cults bickering?

QuarterReptile 4y ago
In any case, the article was very light on citations for the many accusations thrown.
- gwern 4y ago
  The main source seems to be "Kishi and Corruption: An Anatomy of the 1955 System", Samuels 2001: https://www.gwern.net/docs/japanese/2001-12-samuels-kishiandcorruptionananatomyofthe1955system.html https://www.gwern.net/docs/japanese/2001-12-samuels-kishiand... "Kuromaku and the Underworld" section. (Aside from the lack of proper citation, tracking down a copy proved fairly challenging, so I have to wonder if OP has actually read it.)

rramadass 4y ago

I don't completely buy the "religious group" reason given by the assassin. It might just be a convenient cover story for any "State Actors" behind the assassination. Shinzo Abe had been a real thorn in the side of China and North Korea by pushing a hard-line approach towards them. He had tremendous worldwide political/economic clout and was instrumental in establishing the "Pacific Quad" as a real challenge to China and North Korea. Even after stepping down he had been active in drumming up support for his assertive stance against them which obviously wasn't to their liking. It will be interesting to see what the investigators uncover over time.

resoluteteeth 4y ago
Abe was hardly the most anti-China or anti-North Korea MP, and he was no longer prime minister for years anyway. Not only would China or North Korea not get anything out of assassinating him, if they were discovered to have done so this would make Japan even more anti-China and anti-North Korea. So this theory doesn't really seem that likely.
Jensson 4y ago
How would China or North Korea convince a Japanese soldier to openly kill his leader and face death penalty? There is very little social exchange between these countries, extremely few foreigners speaks Japanese, I just don't see how they could indoctrinate him to such a degree that he would give up his own life for that cause. Extremely few people give up their life for a cause even when they grew up in that society, so I really don't think that this is plausible at all.
- fma 4y ago
  Well, this is my fear of TikTok. We've seen how Facebook and Twitter (and certsin news media) polarized/brainwashed Americans in convincing Obama is Muslim and not born in the US through crude algorithms to increase clicks. Imagine TikTok, who isn't just driven by ad revenue but the need to keep the Chinese government happy.
  - 4y ago

enqk 4y ago

I don’t quite agree with amplifying the political or personal message of a murderer, as it seems like rewarding the act with publicity, encouraging more of it.

dav_Oz 4y ago

As an incidental remark: I find it remarkable that on the surface I now know of three G7 countries / liberal democracies where the PM/President is the (grand)son of a PM/President himself. Bush Sr - Bush Jr Pierre Trudeau - Justin Trudeau Nobusuke Kishi - (Shintaro Abe; FM) - Shinzo Abe [Honorary mention: France with "Le Pen" both father & daughter made it to the second round in the presidential elections (2002; 2017 and 2022)]

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
geysersam 4y ago
It's ridiculous. I'd never vote for a president's relative as the next president. It's a matter of hygiene. There must be other equally (more) suitable candidates. Voting for relatives gives us presidents like Bush Jr.
- mcv 4y ago
  Having a familiar name should become a negative instead of a positive for a politician. Voters should assume they're just riding their famous relative's coattails unless clearly proven otherwise.
bigDinosaur 4y ago
You get automatic name recognition by being the child of a former leader, and that applies even if the former leader was unpopular. The hardest thing in national politics is probably becoming, essentially, known in the first place, so they start with a colossal advantage.
- Brendinooo 4y ago
  This, and I’d imagine politics is like anything else: you would really benefit from having people who’ve been there before to help you navigate. It’s the same reason why a lot of children of pro athletes become pro athletes.

mc32 4y ago

This is a strange article with an odd angle. They guy initially wanted to avenge the family’s misfortune by targeting someone high up in the church which he blamed for unscrupulously taking their money, when they proved too difficult (inaccessible) he turned his attention to mr Abe who was associated with the church and was out campaigning making for an easy target. The article starts with an arc where a friendship two generations ago directly lead to a grandsons death. It’s a tool and trope for prose, but not apt for journalism. It’d be like an article about mr Pelosi’s accident starting off with the Porsche company’s founding and how that eventually resulted in drunken driving accident by mr Pelosi. There is lots to unpack and discover regarding the assassination of mr Abe but I feel this journalist is grinding some axe on the way there.

xbar 4y ago
This is repeatedly reported news, not one journalist. According to Japanese police, the shooter claimed Abe's religious group association was the motive. At least two other papers have linked that group to the Family Federation (formerly Unification Church) and the Family Federation issued a PR newswire about the shooting yesterday after refusing to comment. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/09/shinzo-abe-body-tokyo-japan-election-campaign-nara https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/09/shinzo-abe-bod... https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-tetsuya-yamagami-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-tetsuya-yamaga... https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2022-07-10/motives-abe-religious-group-6607822.html https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2022-07-10/mot... Here is the Church's statement: https://www.djournal.com/unification-church-statement-on-the-assassination-of-former-japanese-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/article_822f401c-79b0-52e2-9800-4e565ac03676.html https://www.djournal.com/unification-church-statement-on-the...
- kerryoco 4y ago
  it's one thing to say we have a motive for the shooter, another thing to say that his actions were a rational line of causality as the OP appears to do

istanbul7 4y ago

crikeyjoe 4y ago

lettergram 4y ago

That’s some top level conspiracy theory. First, Who shoots someone just because of “connections”? Why not go after the church itself? Further; this person got two shots off over a 4-5 second period. Just walked up to one of the most powerful politicians in Japan. I personally feel there’s something more to this — gross negligence or a conspiracy idk. The communist opposition was actively calling for his overthrow by any means and calling him hitler (reminds me of the USA frankly). China has been celebrating his death. Even if we assume this person believed this (highly speculative), then it was likely amplified by Chinese propaganda. China, USA, Russia, etc is known to support opposition parties and amplify conspiracy theories to support their aims.

Apocryphon 4y ago
> Why not go after the church itself? Allegedly, the shooter's original target was an official of the church. > I personally feel there’s something more to this — gross negligence or a conspiracy idk. This is an official who has been out of power for a while now, and is known to be in declining health, at a local event, in a country where political violence has been low in recent years, and a country with exceptionally low crime rates. You could totally imagine security being lax and complacent given the circumstances.
jchiu1106 4y ago
> China has been celebrating his death. You mean some people on Weibo? Lol. It's also not surprising that some people would view him unfavorably when he denied Japanese war crimes in the past.

spurgu 4y ago

Site is getting hugged. https://archive.ph/2S6PD https://archive.ph/2S6PD

duxup 4y ago

Isn’t it a little early to be so sure exactly why this happened?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

florin_g 4y ago

For the sake of objectivity, Shinzo Abe was killed by Tetsuya Yamagami and there is no excuse or justification for this murder.

influxmoment 4y ago

retrocryptid 4y ago

oh man. Nobusuke Kishi's wikipedia page is a must read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi