The lone gunman theory that is being bandied about in the assassination of Shinzo Abe, appears unconvincing. Reports are emanating that the dynamite in his weapon was not the over-the-counter type.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi both as PM of a leading economic and strategic partner of Japan, as well as a “dear friend”, as he himself described, of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, attended the state funeral of the assassinated former PM of Japan on 27 September 2022. The ceremony was held at the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo, and flowers were offered by the 4,300 attendees from Japan and abroad, including 700 foreign guests representing more than 210 overseas delegations, including those of international organizations. PM Modi and PM Kishida discussed potential collaboration next year when India chairs the G-20 and Japan, the G-7.
My wife and I placed flowers in Shinzo Abe’s memory at the state funeral and prayed a silent prayer at his memorial for his soul to rest in perfect peace. While the official count is that approximately 23,000 people came from across Japan to pay their respects, a sampling of the outpouring of resolute defiance of the vast silent majority against certain groups seeking to sully the former PM’s reputation, the actual count was thousands greater—because they had to drop out of the queue being unable to withstand the 5 to 6 hours’ meandering procession to reach the memorial.
Shinzo Abe’s was a life very well lived for his beloved Japan. It is hard to find an aide who worked closely with Mr Abe who even privately would say something negative about him. Indeed, permanently unemotional senior Japanese politicians and bureaucrats who attended meetings with Abe san (Mr Abe in Japanese) were moved close to tears on seeing his ebullient, smiling photograph—the one chosen for his private funeral. A more sedate photo was utilized for the state funeral. The most memorable eulogy was from former PM Yoshihide Suga, a close associate of the late PM Abe, whose moving tribute brought tears to Mrs Akie Abe. Mr and Mrs Abe had no children and were known to be a particularly close couple.
Because of intense security measures by over 20,000 police officers, the public had to walk in a single file queue for 5 to 6 hours to reach the memorial. There were large numbers of young adults, but also elderly supporters of the late PM who were hobbling along, their feet aching over walking around 20,235 steps (nearly 11 kilometers), which should have been prevented by having multiple accesses to numerous memorial sites, as well as utilizing advanced operations management and queue theory. Further, there ought to have been special arrangements for the elderly, the disabled, women with small children who clearly wanted them to be part of history, and for those who had to work during the day so that they could come in the evening or early morning. Roads blocked off to traffic were also not well communicated, putting even taxi drivers in difficulty as they went from blocked road to blocked road. Government bureaucrats who organized the event should have consulted Japan’s huge private sector logistics industry that can get a package to virtually anywhere in the country overnight, through a mix of ground transportation and air cargo.
COMPARISONS WITH ASSASSINATION OF RAJIV GANDHI
Having twice met the late assassinated former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, or Rajivji as he was fondly called by young and old, I could not help seeing the stark parallels. Both Rajivji and Abe san were relatively young when they were assassinated. But their post-assassination stories diverge. No one really dared to oppose the funeral for Rajivji, but some in Japan opposed a state funeral for Abe san. Certain elderly recipients of Japan’s generous welfare system nevertheless opined against spending approximately $10 million, that is 0.001 of 1% of the $1 trillion Japanese central government budget, on the state funeral. When there are existential risks to Japan with respect to Taiwan falling, that is just 110 kilometers away, it is hard to imagine a more bizarre debate. Indeed, there ought to be permanent memorials at the assassination site in Nara, and in every prefecture where millions can pay homage, and place flowers that ought to be delivered to Mrs Akie Abe, and that may ease one part of the pain.
The late Rajiv Gandhi was blown to pieces by a Sri Lankan LTTE suicide bomber on the last day of campaigning in the 1991 parliamentary election. Shinzo Abe was shot dead on the last day of campaigning in the 2022 summer Upper House election. Until Rajivji’s assassination, many saw the LTTE as “freedom fighters”, seeking an end to alleged oppression by the majority Sinhalese, but once it was proved to be responsible for the assassination, all sympathy for it evaporated and it sounded the death-knell of the LTTE and its rancid leadership. Indeed, collaboration between the Indian and Sri Lankan Navies, including intercepting cargo ships filled with weapons, that remain partly secret, also ensured that no LTTE leader was able to escape from the island in May 2009 when LTTE was totally eliminated.
In a private conversation that I’m sure he won’t mind my making public, a former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who had been Foreign Minister of Nigeria, described Rajivji as “a gentle soul and therefore not suited for the rough and tumble of Indian politics”. Similarly, Shinzo Abe, with his long-standing struggles with ulcerative colitis, had to suddenly resign from office twice, thus shocking even his closest aides. If his chronic disease was more under control, it is hard to imagine that so consequential a Prime Minister as Shinzo Abe could have lost any election, and therefore he would have continued in office year after year (with periodic amendments on term limits to his Liberal Democratic Party Constitution)—and the Japanese PM has extensive security at all times—unlike the near-pathetic security arrangements that were in place for him as a former PM. Similarly, had Rajivji been campaigning as a PM, rather than a former PM, no suicide bomber would have been allowed to come anywhere near, and would have been arrested long before she came close. Thus, both were victims of assassination while being out of office, having had to participate in election campaign events as requested by their respective political parties.
It was fortuitous for the Indian investigation team that probed the dastardly deed that a photographer was assigned by the LTTE leadership to record it for posterity. The photographer himself perished in the blast since he was trying to photograph the criminal act at close range, presumably for the enjoyment of the disgusting terrorist LTTE leadership. The camera and photographs survived the blast and formed a permanent record of just what happened. There has been no similar breakthrough in understanding what forces were responsible for the assassination of Shinzo Abe. The lone gunman theory that is being bandied about appears unconvincing. Reports are emanating that the dynamite in his weapon was not the over-the-counter type. Equally unbelievable is the claim by the criminal gunman that he shot Abe because of the purported support Abe gave a fringe church that had tormented the gunman’s mother and extracted their entire wealth driving them to bankruptcy. Aides to Abe vehemently have denied that Abe was in any way involved with the church. He was known to regularly pray at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples (the dual religions practised by the overwhelming majority of Japanese). Abe may have sent a message for a church event, but that is what every politician is expected to do by every registered entity in society, especially when pressed by friends or associates of the politician. I was reminded of how the international agency staff assistant, who also used to drive in Switzerland for a multilateral economist, who later became India’s finance minister and prime minister, sought and got a letter of encouragement from his ex-boss when he was Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, for the assistant’s daughter’s dance recital. In India’s vibrant democracy, such gestures are regarded highly and not seen as some sort of infraction. It is therefore painful for those who cared about Shinzo Abe to see just how unfairly he has been pilloried for having sent a message of encouragement, something every politician in any functioning democracy is expected to do every day. Therefore, some top aides of Shinzo Abe do suspect that it is a motivated campaign of calumny to denigrate the memory of Abe after his death when he can no longer defend himself.
Then-PM Abe’s advisor and speechwriter, Prof Tomohiko Taniguchi, who wrote the famous “Confluence of the Two Seas” speech that they had together structured, that provides for the foundation of the Quad, that Abe masterly delivered in Indian Parliament to thunderous applause on 22 August 2007, has taken upon himself the mission of refuting the false and malicious allegations against Abe, appearing in English TV, radio, and YouTube program after program. His fury is palpable against those who both propagate the nonsensical conspiracy theory on Abe, as well as those who have swallowed (in fishing analogy) hook, line and sinker the alleged fringe church bait. On a visit to India to speak at a conference, post-assassination, Prof Taniguchi said he was struck by how much reverence Shinzo Abe evokes in India. That is because there has never been before, and it is unlikely that there will ever again be a world leader who had such great connect with India, understood its ethos and its potential more than Shinzo Abe. Then-PM Abe was scheduled to deliver a speech in Manipur, where thousands of Japanese soldiers died along with large numbers of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army soldiers while fighting the British Indian Army (the bulk of those troops were Indian), in support of Indian Independence, but that Abe visit had to be called off. The speech still should be delivered posthumously in Manipur on behalf of Shinzo Abe. Abe was conferred the Padma Vibhushan, a high honour, in 2021 by the Government of India. To their credit, other close friends and associates of Shinzo Abe have also been vocal in refuting the false propaganda, especially former and current METI ministers, respectively, Hiroshige Seko and Yasutoshi Nishimura, and Kenneth Weinstein, former Hudson Institute president.
In remembering the lives of Shinzo Abe and Rajiv Gandhi it is apparent that they both had detractors, but that those they touched in life forever carry them in their hearts.
Dr Sunil Chacko holds degrees in medicine (Kerala), public health (Harvard) and an MBA (Columbia). He was Assistant Director of Harvard University’s Intl. Commission on Health Research, served in the Executive Office of the World Bank Group, and has been a faculty member in the US, Canada, Japan and India.