The assassin used a handmade gun while Abe was making a speech. The assassin was apprehended.
Guns and gun violence are very rare in Japan.
Tim
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/japan-ex-pm-abe-injured-031912199…
BBC
Shinzo Abe: Japan ex-PM assassinated at campaign event
Yvette Tan - BBC News
Fri, July 8, 2022 at 6:05 a.m.·5 min read
Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died in hospital after he was shot at a political campaign event, say local media.
Mr Abe was shot at twice while he was giving a speech in the southern city of Nara on Friday morning.
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The assassin used a handmade gun while Abe was making a speech …
Craftsmanship and attention to quality and detail has long been a part of Japanese culture.
intercst
Craftsmanship and attention to quality and detail has long been a part of Japanese culture.
intercst
It looked like a sawed off double barrel shotgun held together with black tape.
The suspect has been identified as Nara resident Tetsuya Yamagami. Local media reports say he is believed to be a former member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japan’s equivalent of a navy.
Tim
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It looked like a sawed off double barrel shotgun held together with black tape.
You make do with the materials at hand.
intercst
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Saddened by this last night.
Not an expert on Japanese politics, but back in the day when I actually cared about things - I sort of followed Abe’s happenings in a general sense and some of his stances, and especially attitude on things national – I felt were favorable. I remember writing as much on the political boards over the years.
Home made guns fabricated from some tubing and a firing mechanism were known as “zip guns” back in the '50s. Teenage gangs were known to have them.
Now in the US guns are so available zip guns are rare.
Im not sure what gun laws are like in Japan. They probably have hunting. Perhaps guns are hard to get.
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Abe had little in the way of security because a shooting of this sort is nearly inconceivable in Japan. In the same fashion that historians will remember Abe as the shaper of post 2000 Japan from a political and economic standpoint, his death will change the way the Japanese think about security - this is almost their 9/11 moment it is so significant. We live in a country where mass shootings and street killings are common place, but their rarity in Japan makes this an enormous event whose repercussions will be felt every time Abe’s name is brought up in the same fashion we, in the US, remember the Lincoln and JFK shootings.
Jeff
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What Jeff said time a trillion or so. Earthshattering.
The implications for the USA gun control debate are obvious and dismal.
david fb