RISK FROM ATTACKS GROWING
While the motivation has not yet been determined, one thing is clear: After the second attack on a senior Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politician during a stump speech in less than a year, the risk from such events is growing.
Sadly, that’s to be expected given how Abe’s killing was exploited for political gain. Tetsuya Yamagami, the suspect in his assassination, largely accomplished his goals. He reportedly targeted the former prime minister for his supposed ties to the Unification Church, better known as the Moonies.
According to reports, the killer sought retribution for his impoverished upbringing, which he blamed on his mother’s lavish donations to the church. Having been unable to target the head of the organisation itself, he instead settled on Abe, supposedly due to the fact that his grandfather had assisted the church in the early post-war years.
Instead of recognising this as bitter delusion and focusing on the concerning security lapses surrounding Abe’s killing, media reports instead gave Yamagami bizarrely sympathetic coverage, and even took up his cause against the church.
For months, Japan’s front pages and TV shows were dominated by links between the ruling LDP and the Unification Church. Ties to the myriad other new religions, even the Soka Gakkai group that backs the ’s coalition partner Komeito, were not given the same treatment. Some seemed to revel in an opportunity to get one over a political opponent who couldn’t be taken down in life.
“Unification Church leader gave orders to approach Abe after appointment as Japan PM,” ran one typical headline, fully five months after his killing. Reports looking at the issue frequently used the language of “ties” between the LDP and the church, which often meant little more than holding meetings or shaking hands.
A relentless barrage of stories focused on how senior politicians, including Abe, met with the church representatives, but failed to provide the context that politicians everywhere routinely associate with interest groups, particularly those with money. Needless to say, many prominent opposition politicians were subsequently revealed to have also had such “ties” to the church during the late 2000s when the LDP’s popularity was in decline.