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Shinzo Abe assassination

A man is arrested after he allegedly threw an explosive device at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Saikazaki port in Wakayama, western Japan, last year. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Japan steps up security for politicians, VIPs after Trump rally shooting

Incident has echoes of Shinzo Abe’s killing by a lone gunman two years ago, although analysts say it is too soon to compare the attacks.

Incident has echoes of Shinzo Abe’s killing by a lone gunman two years ago, although analysts say it is too soon to compare the attacks

16 Jul 2024 - 8:00AM

2 years after Abe’s shooting, ‘second-generation’ church members struggling

8 Jul 2024 - 5:19PM

‘I’ll blow up Koike’s office’: threats hit politicians ahead of Tokyo poll

27 Jun 2024 - 10:00AMvideocam

‘A serious offence’: Singapore jails man for threatening PM Lee on Facebook

Kong Chee Kian said someone should assassinate Lee following the shooting of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

21 Mar 2024 - 11:53AMvideocam

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attends the Asean-Australia summit in Melbourne on March 6. Photo: AFP

Calls grow for Japan’s Kishida to fire minister over Unification Church ties

But even as PM Kishida reels from the blow ahead of a potential election, analysts say he is ‘likely to survive’ as the opposition is ‘just not ready to take over’.

12 Feb 2024 - 2:30PM

The true power of the cult caught up in Shinzo Abe’s assassination

The Unification Church – a cult linked to the motives of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s alleged assassin – has long wielded influence in Japan’s politics and society. Now it could be dissolved.

14 Oct 2023 - 8:26AMvideocam

Unification Church accuses Japan of ‘bias’, vows to fight as disbandment looms

If the court grants the request, the church will no longer be a religious corporation and be deprived of tax benefits, but will not be required to stop operating.

1 Nov 2023 - 4:00PMvideocam

The Tokyo headquarters of the Unification Church in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Chinese students reenact killing of Japan’s Shinzo Abe

13 Oct 2023 - 6:16PM

Japan Kishida bomb attack suspect indicted for attempted murder

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was out campaigning in April when a man threw a home-made pipe bomb at him; he wasn’t hurt but 2 others were. Suspect Ryuji Kimura was arrested on the spot.

6 Sep 2023 - 6:23PMvideocam

Japan mulls dissolving Unification Church following scandal

A request for it to disband could be filed with the court as soon as October, and comes after an investigation of the church regarding alleged illegal donations and ‘spiritual sales’.

3 Sep 2023 - 8:19PMvideocam

Couples from the Unification Church attend a mass wedding ceremony. Photo: AFP

A year after Abe’s death, ‘lone wolf’ attack fears stalk Japan politicians

Police have made significant changes to the ways they handle politicians’ security after the ex-prime minister was gunned down on July 8 last year.

8 Jul 2023 - 11:30AMvideocam

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tastes seafood during an election campaign event in Wakayama on April 15. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters

2 dead, 1 hurt after recruit opens fire on soldiers at Japan army training range

Police said the shooter, an 18-year-old new recruit, was detained on the spot and had been charged with attempted murder.

14 Jun 2023 - 4:18PMvideocam

More Japanese losing their religion as cults, church scandals drive ‘distrust’

Nearly 40 per cent of respondents to a survey said they had lost trust in religion over the past two years, with some saying they have no reason to visit a Buddhist temple any more.

19 Apr 2023 - 9:31AMvideocam

Attack on Japan’s Kishida shows ‘lessons of Abe’s assassination not learned’

While some analysts lament ‘another serious lapse by the police’, others say ‘G7 leaders have little to worry about’ when they meet in Hiroshima next month.

18 Apr 2023 - 9:30AMvideocam

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is escorted by security officers at an election campaign event in Chiba prefecture on Saturday, hours after being evacuated unharmed from the scene of an apparent “smoke bomb” blast at another event earlier that day. Photo: AFP

Meet the have-a-go heroes who subdued Japan PM Kishida’s smoke-bomb attacker

The fishermen sprang into action as soon as they saw an object flying overhead towards Japan’s prime minister. Their heroics prompted many online to wonder if they were plain-clothes police officers.

17 Apr 2023 - 12:02PM

A man accused of throwing the smoke bomb at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is restrained by police in Saikazaki on Saturday. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

‘I was stunned’: Japan PM escapes unhurt after smoke bomb thrown during event

Kishida, who was unhurt in the incident in western Japan’s Wakayama, apologised for ‘worrying many people’.

16 Apr 2023 - 2:22AMvideocam

Shinzo Abe murder suspect formally charged

After claiming he killed the former leader because of apparent links to a religious group, Tetsuya Yamagami underwent months of psychiatric evaluation that showed he is fit to stand trial.

13 Jan 2023 - 11:13PMvideocam

Suspect in assassination of Shinzo Abe formally charged with murder

13 Jan 2023 - 10:30PM

01:48

As a coronavirus-dominated 2022 ends, what does 2023 have in store?

In this edition of the Global Impact newsletter, we look back at the events that unfolded in 2022 and also looks ahead to what we can expect in 2023.

3 Jan 2023 - 2:00PMvideocam

This Year in Asia: sex is out, weed is in, China’s set to reopen, BTS enlists

Southeast Asia was in the spotlight with Anwar Ibrahim finally becoming Malaysia’s prime minister, while Singapore repealed its anti-gay law Section 377A.

31 Dec 2022 - 7:48PMvideocam

Chinese gangs, scams, assassinations: crimes that gripped Asia in 2022

More tragedy in Thailand over massacre at nursery, murder of South Korean subway worker by her stalker, brazen attack on Filipino broadcast journalist.

31 Dec 2022 - 12:14PMvideocam

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead during a campaign speech on July 8 in Nara. Photo: AFP

Japan prosecutors to indict Abe shooter after psychiatric evaluation

The Nara District Prosecutors Office earlier extended the detention of Tetsuya Yamagami, 42, to carefully examine whether he was mentally fit to withstand trial.

25 Dec 2022 - 11:35AMvideocam

Tetsuya Yamagami is escorted by police in Nara, western Japan. Photo: Kyodo/File

Will Shinzo Abe’s widow take over his safe seat, or is Japan ready to move on?

Akie Abe fanned speculation she is considering taking over her late husband Shinzo Abe’s constituency when she spoke during a funeral service for the slain former Japanese leader.

2 Nov 2022 - 8:30AMvideocam

Controversial Unification Church under scrutiny in Japan

18 Oct 2022 - 5:30PM

Abe’s funeral unpopular in Japan but may deepen regional ties: analysts

The former PM wasn’t well-liked at home and the US$11.5 million send-off has sparked public anger, but many foreign leaders attended his state funeral.

28 Sep 2022 - 4:19AMvideocam

The portrait of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is seen on the altar during his state funeral. Photo: AP

US-Japan alliance is ‘a cornerstone’, Kamala Harris says

The US Vice-President is in Tokyo to attend the funeral of former Japanese president Shinzo Abe who forged closer ties with the US at a time of increased concern about China’s ambitions.

26 Sep 2022 - 6:16PMvideocam

US Vice President Kamala Harris and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meet at the Akasaka Palace ahead of Shinzo Abe’s funeral. Photo: AFP

US VP Harris to hold talks on issues from Taiwan to North Korea during Asia trip

Harris will confront controversy at nearly every turn as she visits Asia for the memorial honouring former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe.

25 Sep 2022 - 11:00PMvideocam

Japan may include Taiwan at Abe funeral, which could trigger China reaction

If carried out, sources said Japan is likely to refer to the self-ruled island as Taiwan, not as “the Republic of China”, its official name for itself.

25 Sep 2022 - 3:00PM

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Shinzo Abe assassination

Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot by a gunman while delivering a speech in the city of Nara on July 8, 2022. He showed no vital signs when he arrived at the hospital, and spent 4.5 hours in treatment before he was pronounced dead. The gunman was identified as a 41-year-old local man who was a veteran of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force who said he was frustrated with Abe.

last updated:

16 July, 2024