Japan - The seconds that sealed Shinzo Abe and divided Japan
Probably the most shocking news of 2022 in Japan so far would have to be the assassination of the former prime mister, Shinzo Abe, during the election campaign on July 8th. Shinzo Abe’s killing was not only a tragedy but also especially shocking considering Japan’s reputation as a country that values gun safety: gun sales and gun ownership have been severely restricted and regulated in the country for decades.
While the background to this crime is not yet fully understood, the admission of the gunman, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, of having purchased the materials for the guns online is a key moment. As is his statement that he targeted Abe for his alleged affiliations with a religious group, the Unification Church - an organisation to which Yamagami’s mother had donated over JPY100M and which Abe was said to be a strong supporter of.
All of this takes place at a time when the country had just been starting to recover from the pandemic. But Japan is now hit by rising inflation and the depreciation of JPY
The current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, made an immediate announcement that a state funeral would be held to acknowledge Abe’s contribution to the country, alongside a thorough investigation of politicians from the ruling party in order to explore the nature of involvement with the religious cult.
This announcement lead to a lot of discussion such as “why a state funeral/can the ruling party decide just like that?’”, “how much can the result of the investigation be trusted?’” and “how much of taxpayers’ money would be spent?”… Various media polls were conducted in mid-September and one of the harshest results, published by the Mainichi Newspaper, found Kishida’s approval rate falling from 36% to 29%. Some 72% said they do not trust the investigation done by the government on the cult and 62% were against the state funeral.
However, Japanese people are now divided on how the government will deal with the issue on affiliations with this religious cult – politics and religion are a sensitive subject. While most media remained quiet, due to complaints by the cult, the Yomiuri TV station stands out, so far reporting the details of the past incidences and specific politicians’ involvement with the Unification Church ‘cult’.
And all of this takes place at a time when the country had just been starting to recover from the pandemic. But is now hit by rising inflation, the depreciation of JPY and plunging approval ratings for the Kishida Cabinet, dividing Japanese people even more.
Shunichi Uchida