By Nils Kottmann
Did Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe (67) die because his bodyguards weren’t careful?
A shocking photo suggests just that: it shows assassin Tetsuya Yamagami (41) standing behind Abe with his gun belted on him before the ex-prime minister has even started his speech in Nara. Yamagami listens calmly for minutes – then he draws his weapon. Only two seconds before the first shot does a bodyguard turn around and look the killer in the eye.
Japan’s police now want to check their protection concept for top politicians for weaknesses. There seems to have been plenty of that when Abe was assassinated.
► Because: why did no security guard notice that an armed man could stand behind the ex-prime minister for minutes? Yamagami’s homemade weapon looks like an oversized pistol.
Security forces stopped the attacker with full physical effort Photo: Reuters
Only the second shot was fatal
In the two seconds between the first and second shots, a bodyguard holds a bulletproof briefcase in front of Abe – but why aren’t any of them throwing themselves protectively at the top politician? Because only the second shot hits, Abe collapses fatally injured in the neck and chest.
Why was Yamagami able to shoot again at all? The question comes to mind especially in comparison to the USA, because: During the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981, the gunman John Hinckley was overpowered by bodyguards within two seconds.
Abe’s bodyguards only succeed five seconds after the former prime minister has been fatally hit. The former prime minister died at 5:03 p.m. local time in the hospital of cardiopulmonary arrest.
Assassin is ex-military
Assassin Tetsuya Yamagami has now confessed to the crime. His motive for the murder: “The suspect stated that he harbored a grudge against a certain organization and committed the act because he believed that former Prime Minister Abe had a connection to it,” a senior police official said at a press conference . It is unclear which organization this should be.
Police officers found several explosive devices and weapons during a raid on Yamagami’s home in Nara, according to Japanese local broadcaster “ NHKreported. The alleged assassin wants to have built both himself, as he had previously told the investigators. The assassin is said to have served in the Japanese military from 2002 to 2005.
