Who killed Shinzo Abe?

Shinzo Abe was not just a name. He emerged as one of the most popular leaders of Japan who put his country at a special podium on geostrategic platform. He gave a new dimension to Japanese Nationalism which falling sharp after the historic surrender of the country post Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings during the second World War. As the longest serving Prime Minister of Japan, he not only revived the country’s economy but proved himself to be not only the youngest but the strongest Prime Minister too in the post WWII history of Japan.

His idea of Abenomics was aimed at countering Chinese influence over the world. Shinzo Abe had challenges like persistent deflation, high fiscal spendings and an ageing population which was shrinking with each passing day. The Abenomics strategy was focussed on a three-pronged approach of hyper easy monetary policy, financial stimulus along with structural reforms which not only revived Japanese economy but also posed serious challenges to growing Chinese clout in the region. However, his handling of Covid-19 was criticised, and he resigned from the position in September 2020 probably due to the same reason.

The million-dollar question now is “Who Killed Shinzo Abe?”

In a country like Japan where crime is almost negligible and gun culture is totally absent, such action raises a plethora of questions. Who was likely to benefit from the assassination? Who could be the real perpetrator of this gruesome murder and is there any international conspiracy? Did 41-year-old veteran of Japanese Navy Tetsuya Yamagami do it due to ideological differences with Shinzo Abe or was there someone who orchestrated this murder? 

If we look at the internal dynamics of Japan, there is no culture of violence. Homicidal rate in the country is lower than 0.03 per million population, out of which more than half are due to accidents. The country has largely been violence free in the past. There have never been any aggressive reactions to the ideologies of political leaders. Everything is sorted out amicably with mutual discussions and violence has no place in Japanese culture.  

The way Tetsuya Yamagami created a country-made gun at his home using steel pipes, lithium batteries and parts created by 3D printing indicate a larger conspiracy which needs to be investigated in detail. Shinzo Abe was assassinated after he was out of the power and was vulnerable. His security too was thinned out after his resignation as there was no visible threat to his life and Japan had no enemies of Mr Abe. This was a golden opportunity for anyone trying to get rid of him. With an ultra- vibrant culture and amicable social structure in Japan, it is nearly impossible that Yamagami made up his mind to assassinate Shinzo Abe on his own. 

Abe did not have many enemies but the events during his tenure as Prime Minister of Japan indicate that the relations with China were soured to a critical extent and in the event of Shinzo Abe returning to power in Japan once again, it would have been difficult for Beijing to continue its expansionary policies. We have strong reasons to prove that.  

Going by past events, we know that soon after Shinzo Abe took over the chair of the Prime Minister of Japan, the country was engaged in the dispute related to Senkaku Islands in East China Sea in 2012. The very next year in 2013, Japan participated in “Operation Dawn Blitz” along with US, Canada and New Zealand which further irked China. Shinzo Abe was quite vocal about the Taiwan issue too and spoke on several occasions for it.

Another reason for China not liking Shinzo Abe was his frequent visits to the controversial “Yasukuni Shrine” which was termed as a symbol of past militarism of Japan. Shinzo first visited in 2006 soon after taking over as Prime Minister for the first time and then in 2013 he took a large number of lawmakers including his party officials to the shrine. The place was considered void by the previous leaders and even the Emperor of Japan who never visited the shrine. Such actions of Shinzo Abe infuriated China badly.

Further, since 2014, there have been several aggressive actions from China including breaching of Japanese Air space and seizing Japanese ship. These have strained the relations and Sino-Japan relations reached a new low after Shinzo Abe launched his Abenomics and in the backdrop of 2018 US-China trade war, his actions were seen as a big roadblock in Chinese ambitions. So, in the event of Shinzo Abe returning to power in Japan, it was much expected that Chinese interests were likely to suffer badly.  

So, we see that China has a strong reason to get rid of Shinzo Abe. Although he was not considered a friend by some other countries too like North Korea and Russia, but the country most affected by his actions was none other than China. Knowing Japanese culture and their social structure, it is near impossible that Tetsuya Yamagami killed such a popular leader just because he did not agree with his policies. But certainly, Beijing angle needs a thorough investigation. Time will tell the outcome of investigation but questions are still haunting the world.

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The author is a veteran from Armed Forces. He is a known Defence Strategist with keen interests in international affairs, maritime security, terrorism and internal security.