Consternation in Tokyo and questions about the murder of Abe

The Italian missionary, currently in Japan, says that: “it is the first time that such an event has occurred. Even young people, usually far from politics, today crowd in front of the giant screens to follow the news. If the terrorist really acted alone, we must look within” and ask ourselves about “a society that creates people who end up exploding”. The Archbishop of Tokyo, Monsignor Kikuchi: “Violence kills democracy”.

Tokyo () – “The country is shocked, the news is still very fragmentary. When it happened this morning, I was at Kawasaki station: everyone was in a state of shock after the news”. From Tokyo, Fr. Andrea Lembo, PIME missionary and vice president of the Shinzei Kaikan Catholic cultural center, thus describes the climate of commotion that reigns in the Japanese capital due to the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abeduring a shooting at a rally in Nara prefecture.

“It’s a small province,” says Father Lembo, “Abe was there for the campaign, in support of the local Liberal Democratic Party candidate. An election is being held here on Sunday in which Japanese society is also the subject of debate: in recent weeks there has been talk of the presence of a high percentage of women among the opposition candidates, as opposed to the model embodied by the PLD. But the event was still something local”.

Very little is still known about the motive of Tetsuya Yamagami, the 41-year-old man who fired a homemade weapon. “The news is fragmentary”, comments the missionary, “All the ministers who participated in the electoral campaign were immediately sent back to Tokyo, perhaps fearing the action of an organized group. But it could also be the action of a single individual. Certainly, we are facing a terrible first for Japan: in the past there have been incidents such as subway attacks, but never a political assassination with a person shooting in public. He is also a shock From this point of view, in a country where having a personal weapon is extremely rare.”

Even if it were confirmed that Yamagami was driven to attack former Prime Minister Abe out of personal grudges, as the first leaked information seems to indicate, what happened would not be less disturbing for that: “It would make us question ourselves again about a society that excludes, crushes the weakest individuals and ends up creating this type of personalities that, in the end, end up exploding”, comments Father Lembo.

“As for the meaning of a personality like Shinzo Abe for Japan”, continues the PIME missionary, “certainly with his political activity he left a very strong message about the pride of Japan, its beauty and its international position. In fact, with his strength he managed to knock down the opposition, played by Yuchio Hatoyama. But we are also talking about a country in which, as in all great democracies, the level of participation has fallen to historic lows. What has caught my attention today has been seeing so many young people in front of the giant screens, following the news. In Japan, the youth seem to be far removed from politics. It will be interesting to see if this will have repercussions on Sunday’s elections, if they are not postponed.”

The Archbishop of Tokyo, Monsignor Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi – when Shinzo Abe’s death had not yet been declared – also intervened today to refer to the attack, assuring his prayers “with all my heart” for the affected politician. “Violence kills freedom,” he added in a statement released by the website crux. Violence kills justice. Differences of political opinion must be resolved through dialogue and free voting. Nobody has the right to use violence to silence the opposition. Only dialogue offers a real solution to achieve justice and peace.”