Ex-PM Abe Remembered 2 Years After Fatal Shooting; Increased Security After Incident During Commemorations Last Year

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:19 JST, July 8, 2024

NARA — Monday marked two years since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot while delivering an election campaign speech in Nara.

From early in the morning, many people came to offer flowers and remember him at a commemorative site near the location of the attack in front of Kintetsu Railway Co.’s Yamato-Saidaiji Station in the city.

The shooting occurred at 11:31 a.m. on July 8, 2022, while Abe was giving a speech to support a Liberal Democratic Party candidate in the House of Councillors election. The former prime minister, then 67, was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead that evening.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 43, was arrested on the spot. He has been indicted for murder and other charges, but no trial date has yet been set.

The LDP’s Nara prefectural chapter set up flower stands on Sunday and Monday in front of the station, having also done so last year.

A man was caught during the first anniversary of the attack for wielding a gun-like object near the flower stands, causing a scene. This year, the site was surrounded by fences, and baggage checks were conducted on visitors. About 30 uniformed police officers from the Nara prefectural police were on guard in the area.