2022 Year in Review

The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, on July 8 this
year, sent shockwaves across Japan and the globe. This is no embellishment.
World leaders expressed their shock. Japan is also noted for its near nonexistent
gun violence as a result of strict gun protocols, with only ten shooting
instances reported last year. As a result, this comparatively low gun violence rate
has carried over into the political sphere in recent years; Japanese politicians
closely interact with the general public during elections, with security known to
be ‘lax’. With Abe recognised as Japan’s “most influential politician of recent
decades”, the fact that such a prominent political figure was murdered only
compounded this shock.
The fallout from Abe’s assassination has been significant. Top Japanese police
officials - Itaru Nakamura and Tomoaki Onizuka - announced their resignations
after a probing investigation concluded significant security faults resulted in
Abe’s death. Furthermore, the gunman’s - Tetsuya Yamagami - motive, was
revealed to be Abe’s informal “links” with the Unification Church - an
organisation recognised for being a “predatory cult”. Yamagami held a “grudge”
against the group as a result of his mother donating more than $700,000, which
left her family in “financial ruin”. This revelation has caused a firestorm in
Japanese politics, disclosing the true extent of Liberal Democratic Party (the LDP)
politicians’ ties with the Unification Church. A Kyodo News survey has since
found more than 100 of Japan's 712 Diet parliamentarians held links with the
Unification Church - nearly 80% of these 100-plus politicians are LDP members.
Since Abe’s death, it has been revealed that Cabinet's disapproval rose to 41 per
cent (up 17 points since July), whilst the hashtag “the LDP is disgusting” started
trending on Japanese Twitter. Interestingly, the announcement of a state funeral
(for 27 September) only added to domestic division, with recent polls indicating
62 per cent of the Japanese public oppose such a move. Subsequent protests -
including one demonstrator who set themself on fire - object to the
aforementioned scandal, cost and use of taxpayer funds, as well as entrenching
Abe’s nationalistic legacy.
Amidst this backdrop, more than 190 foreign delegations and 50 head-of-state
level VIPs attended the State Funeral. These contrasting attitudes - negative
domestically; supportive internationally - invite a greater reflection of Shinzo
Abe’s legacy.
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