Fatal Shooting of U.S. Activist: Stop Chain of Violent Acts Threatening Democracy

Editorial

15:00 JST, September 13, 2025

Another politically influential figure in the United States has fallen victim to a gun attack. No matter the argument, violence cannot be justified. This chain of violent acts threatening democracy must be stopped.

Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist close to U.S. President Donald Trump, was shot and killed while giving a speech at a university in the western U.S. state of Utah.

Kirk was 31. He wielded immense influence on younger generations among Trump supporters. As one who played a key role in Trump’s reelection in last year’s U.S. presidential election, Kirk had just attended and spoken at an event held by Sanseito in Tokyo on Sept. 7.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has released images of a person of interest in connection with the shooting and is carrying out the investigation. The FBI is urged to swiftly clarify the motive and other circumstances.

In recent years, there have been a series of violent attacks targeting politicians in the United States. In July last year, Trump sustained a gunshot wound to his right ear while giving a campaign speech. A second attempted assassination against him occurred in September last year.

Targets of violence are not limited to Republican-related figures. In April this year, the official residence of the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania was set on fire. In June, two Democratic Minnesota state legislators were shot, one fatally.

However, in a video statement following the Kirk incident, Trump stated, “Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.” The comment can be interpreted as implying leftist involvement and is problematic for stoking political polarization.

Trump refused to concede defeat in the 2020 presidential election, and the storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters and others occurred in January the following year. Drawing on his own experience of having become a target of terrorism, Trump should call for bipartisan efforts to come up with measures, including gun control.

In the United States, income inequality is widening, and political polarization is intensifying. A survey indicates that against this backdrop of social and political division, a growing proportion of voters accept violence to eliminate opponents with differing views.

In Europe, Slovakia’s prime minister was shot in May last year. A crisis of democracy is spreading.

In Japan, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot during a street speech during the 2022 House of Councillors election campaign. In a 2023 House of Representatives by-election, an explosive device was thrown toward then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Since then, security has been tightened for both lower and upper house elections and last year’s Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, with such measures as metal-detector inspections of belongings at campaign speech venues. Another LDP presidential election will be held soon. It is essential to manage with it with thorough preparations and ensure it is a contest free from violence.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 13, 2025)