Japan’s head of National Police Agency announced his resignation on Thursday after an investigation confirmed a compromise in the security details for assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
WHAT WE KNOW
The police Chief, Itaru Nakamura whose addressed journalists admitted failings by the police in providing security to the murdered former Prime Minister, which created the loophole that led to his murder.
Nakamura said that the police failure was as a result of “limitations of the current system, which has been in place for years, in which local police bear sole responsibility for providing security.”
He told reporters, “There were shortcomings in the security plans and the risk assessments on which they were based, and direction from the field commander was insufficient.”
“The root of this problem lies in the limitations of the current system, which has been in place for years, in which local police bear sole responsibility for providing security.”
Nakamura said he would take full responsibility for the failures and step aside from his position as Japan’s police chief.
In his words, “We have decided to shake up our personnel and start afresh with our security duties, and that’s why I tendered my resignation to the National Public Safety Commission today.”
CATCH-UP
Shinzo Abe was shot and killed on campaign trail on July 8 in the Nara region of Japan.
His suspected killer was arrested at the murder scene and he is believed to have targeted the late prime minister because he thought he was linked to the Unification Church.
Abe was Japan’s most popular politician and longest-serving Prime Minister.
Local police in the area where he was murdered have already acknowledged “undeniable” flaws in security for the former leader.
Tetsuya Yamagami, the man suspected of Shinzo Abe’s murder is reportedly undergoing a psychiatric evaluation to determine his state of mind at the time of the assassination.
Prosecutors in Japan are expected to determine whether Yamagami be held responsible for the murder based on the examination, before making a decision on whether to charge him or not.
TAKEAWAY
Clariform reports that Yamagami’s mother had previously made huge donations to the Unification church, which her son later blamed for the family’s financial woes.
Clariform also recalls that Abe’s family held a private funeral for him shortly after his murder, but a state funeral is also in the pipelines with world leaders expected to grace the event billed for September 27.
Shinzo Abe while alive enjoyed a prominent place in Japan’s public life even after resigning in 2020 on health grounds, some people also saw him as a divisive figure as he faced cronyism allegations and criticisms for his staunch nationalist views.
