Asia | Banyan

Abe Shinzo’s assassin achieved his political goals

In Japan, political violence looks worryingly effective

Image: Georges

“Revolution+1”, a new Japanese film, opens with actual footage of the killing of Abe Shinzo, Japan’s former prime minister, last July. The grainy frames show Abe giving a stump speech in Nara while his assassin, Yamagami Tetsuya, approaches from behind wielding a homemade gun. The feature film proceeds to portray a sympathetic protagonist named Kawakami, whose biography bears a striking resemblance to Abe’s actual killer: his father committed suicide, as Mr Yamagami’s did, and his mother fell under the spell of the Unification Church (uc), a cultlike group.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The wages of violence”

From the January 14th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Asia

A Virginia Class submarine

AUKUS enters its fifth year. How is the pact faring?

It has weathered two big political changes. What about Donald Trump’s return?

Japanese and American soldier placing flags before an official gathering

Joe Biden’s mixed legacy on Japan

Security co-operation flourished, but a scuppered steel deal leaves a sour taste


A worker supervises the disposal of slag from nickel ore processing in a nickel factory in Sorowako, Indonesia

Indonesia nearly has a monopoly on nickel. What next?

Prabowo Subianto, the new president, wants to create an electric car supply chain


What a 472-year-old corpse reveals about India

St Francis Xavier is both venerated and despised

Pakistan’s army puts a former intelligence chief on trial

General Faiz Hameed is an ally of Imran Khan, who is currently behind bars

By resisting arrest, South Korea’s president challenges democracy

His attempt to impose martial law failed. But Yoon Suk Yeol is still causing trouble