Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination over a week ago shocked the nation in historical ways. According to a global study from the University of Sydney, shootings are incredibly uncommon in Japan, with nine gunshot deaths in the nation of over 125 million people for the entire year 2019. Iccho Ito, the mayor of Nagasaki at the time, was the last known politician to be killed in a public shooting in Japan when he passed away from a cardiac attack in 2007, according to CNN.
During his Friday afternoon speech in front of the Nara City station on July 8 2022, the former prime minister was shot three times. He then underwent a number of emergency procedures, surgery, and blood transfusions at the Nara Medical University Hospital before passing away to massive bleeding five hours after the incident. The world leaders quickly paid respect to the former prime minister after learning of his unexpected passing.
The death of the former Japanese prime minister, according to Tomohiko Taniguchi, a former special advisor to the late Shinzo Abe, brought to mind the tragedy of President John F. Kennedy’s shooting in 1961. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was fatally shot in the head during a presidential campaign march in Texas by an unidentified assailant. He mentioned to CNN that people will likely remember this tragic catastrophe for at least a year, similar to the assassination of the late US President Kennedy.
“The day Abe was killed was a day of grief, a day of shock, and for me, a day of rage. This reality is tough for Japanese people to accept,” he said.
However, despite the widespread mourning over Abe’s passing, the people in China and South Korea have responded to his death in very different ways, highlighting Abe’s contentious legacy and ongoing historical disputes between the two neighbours. Both while he was in office and after he left, Abe particularly infuriated the Chinese government and in particular the more nationalist wing of the ruling party for urging Japan to raise military spending and change the pacifist article in its constitution. China swiftly reprimanded him for paying respects at a location where war dead, including war criminals from World War II, is memorialised during his 2013 visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
The response of one Chinese critic to Abe’s passing
Before stepping down in 2020 because of health issues, Abe led the Japanese government for nearly eight years. He enacted significant reforms, such as modernising Japan’s security forces, strengthening its partnership with the US, and restoring the economy after a two-decade period of decline. He was also well-known for fending against China’s growing aggression in the Indo-Pacific, in part by founding the Quad, a security alliance with the US, Australia, and India that China viewed as the “Asian NATO.” Abe had a reputation as a politician who embraced neoliberal economics that favoured big business. However, he was also regarded as a right-wing militarist when it came to foreign policy, seeking to restore the nation’s military might and downplay the cruelty of previous Japanese imperialism. According to an article in Daily Beast, Shinzo Abe and many of his cabinet members are followers of the Shinto sect known as Nippon Kaji. Tadae Takubo, a former journalist turned political scholar, purports to run it. Although it only has 38,000 members, it has a significant political influence, much like many other exclusive organizations or sects.
You see, not many people are familiar with or aware of the part that Japan played in World War II. I was startled to learn that my classmates in Ireland knew nothing about the Japanese invasion of Malaysia and other nations while I was talking to them about WWII during history class. I do believe in the right of free expression in the twenty-first century. History is recorded so that people in the future would not make the same errors or experience the same events that happened in the past but it’s a well-known fact that the Department of Education in Japan gets to edit their history books. This resulted in the very constrained and biased awareness of World War II among their younger generations. Japanese schoolchildren are taught that during World War II, Japan was a victim rather than an aggressor. It is really unfortunate and embarrassing that Japan continues to deny facts and make different claims. I’m not surprised by some people’s outrage on social media, which is bringing attention to Shinzo Abe’s opposing viewpoint. If Germany can do a good job at fully owning up to its past, apologising, and continuing to make efforts to reconcile with its neighbours and victims, why can’t Japan do the same?
Even while I agree that Japan’s history shouldn’t be changed, the celebration of the tragedy expressed by Chinese nationalists on social media was a little too much to take. In my opinion, what’s the difference between them and the main reason for the establishment of Nippon Kaji? What I can see here is the similarity of both getting too caught up in the history that happened during their ancestors’ era. I’m not advocating that we simply ignore the past. The past should be remembered and honoured since it will continue to influence the world we live in today. It is up to us, the future generation, to make the necessary changes to prevent a repeat of the unfortunate events that happened in the past, not recreating or reenacting them.
Professor of government and Japanese studies, Yusaku Horiuchi, tweeted his concern about the numerous baseless claims made on social media that the shooter was Korean or Chinese.
“The circulation of such misinformation may also have important consequences on Japanese public opinion toward Korean, Chinese, and other minorities in Japan, which in turn may affect Japan’s relationship with neighbouring countries,” he wrote.
According to Yasuko Morooka, the liaison committee’s secretary general, there have been hate crimes committed against Koreans in Japan, such as the fires at Korea International School in the Utoro district of Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture (Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture). In a significant occurrence like this one, he noted, “Sending a message that pushes you to fight back with ‘The offender is a Korean’ is highly risky.” He also underlined the need for platforms like Twitter to do their part to stop the spread of discrimination. Social media is a fantastic resource for knowledge, but it can also be a dangerous platform where false rumours can circulate and disturb the calm of the globe. Japan is unquestionably a lovely country, but it also has a lot of skeletons in its closet that are screaming to be seen by everyone. It’s past time for Japan to stop putting on the wearying meek act they have had for so many years. Their leaders must publicly and forcefully denounce, or at the very least acknowledge up to, and fulfil those reparations.
According to Time, the good news for Japan is that it has a political resilience and a feeling of national togetherness that is lacking in several other G7 nations, which must now deal with this setback. Japan’s democratic dignity will continue despite this horror while the US Congress looks into a failed coup attempt by a defeated president in Washington and Boris Johnson’s scandal-riddled premiership limps to an end in the UK. In the approaching parliamentary elections, a sympathy wave is likely to improve the Liberal Democratic Party’s status, enhancing Prime Minister Kishida’s capacity to carry out some of Shinzo Abe’s political and policy objectives. Despite Abe’s idealistic, but at best imperfectly accomplished nationalist objectives, his pragmatic accomplishments are probably what will be remembered about him the longest.
