In a very heart-wrenching and unusual incident, the former Japanese Prime Minister, “Shinzo Abe”, was brutally assassinated by a “homemade shotgun”. As per the analysts, the security measures for the ex-prime minister of Japan were definitely not strict, which led him to fall prey to the gunfire. While Abe was known as a man of strong opinions and during his tenure, he contributed his efforts to developing an expertise in military defense. Due to his “chronic ulcerative colitis” and “inflammatory bowel” diseases, he stepped down from the Office of Prime Minister back in 2020.
The news of his sudden death spread like a wildfire throughout Japan, which left the Japanese in shock and dismay. Talking about the investigation details of this assassination, Hiroshima Shudo University criminal law professor William Cleary said, “Security was obviously too loose and this will prompt a tightening up of security, especially at open-air speeches, given we’re in the middle of elections.” However, gun shooting or assassinating is not something that is considered a common thing in Japan because of the strict regulations on guns there.
Japan falls into one of those countries which are having the most stringent laws related to gun possession. Those who want to acquire guns have to go through a series of long and difficult procedures that include background checks, paperwork, all related information about the family of the expected owner, and extensive psychological checks as well. Considering these things, the assassinator opted to create his own gun by wrapping the device which is made of two tubes with black tape consisting of an integrated firearm in order to keep himself safe from any kind of detective measures.
Daniel Foote, who is a professor at the University of Tokyo specializing in law and society, stated, “This actually shows the extent that Japan’s gun laws are working. Very few people have the ability to create such a weapon. ” We can further make a wild guess about the strictness of gun laws in Japan from the historical context when the first act of assassination of Japanese Prime Minister “Tsuyoshi Inukai” took place in 1932. No such act occurred again until this time.
Now we can hope that the authorities give the culprit an exemplary punishment so that no such type of incident can occur again in the future.