The failure to shield Abe from the second shot followed what appeared to be a series of security lapses in the run-up to the assassination of Japan’s longest-serving leader on July 8, Japanese and international experts said. Abe’s killing in the western city of Nara by a man using an improvised weapon shocked a nation where gun violence is rare and politicians campaign in close proximity to the public with light security. Japanese authorities – including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida – have identified security gaps and police say they are investigating. In addition to security experts, the Reuters news agency spoke to six witnesses at the scene and reviewed several videos available online, taken from different angles, to compile a detailed account of security measures before he was shot. After leaving Abe, 67, exposed from behind as he spoke at a traffic island on a public road, his security allowed the attacker – identified by police as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41 – to get within meters of Abe uncontrollably, brandishing a gun . , they showed the footage. “They should have seen the attacker walking very deliberately toward the back of the prime minister and intervened,” said Kenneth Bombas, head of Global Threat Solutions, which provided security for Joe Biden when he was running for president. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was speaking at a campaign event on a Nara street when he was shot [File: The Asahi Shimbun/via Reuters] Yamagami got within about seven meters (23 feet) of Abe before firing his first shot, which missed, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported, citing investigative sources. He fired the second shot, which hit, about five meters (16.4 feet) away, he said. Abe’s bodyguards did not appear to have “concentric rings of security” around him, said John Soltys, a former Navy SEAL and CIA officer who is now vice president of security firm Prosegur. “They didn’t have any kind of crowd control.” Asked about the experts’ analysis, the Nara Prefectural Police, which is in charge of security for Abe’s campaign, said in a statement to Reuters that the department was “committed to thoroughly identifying security problems” with Abe’s protection. declining to comment further. The video showed that, after the first shot, Abe turned and looked over his left shoulder. Two bodyguards began to step between him and the intruder, one carrying a slim black bag. Two others headed for the gunman, who approached through the smoke. Although Abe’s security confronted the attacker shortly after and arrested him, it was the “wrong response” for some of the police to chase the attacker instead of moving to protect Abe, said Mitsuru Fukuda, a Nihon University professor who specializes in in crisis management and terrorism. . There was plenty of security, “but no sense of danger,” said Yasuhiro Sasaki, a retired police officer in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo who handled VIP security. “Everyone was scared and no one went to where Abe was.” Tokyo police, responsible for bodyguarding VIP politicians, referred questions to Nara police. The National Police Service, which oversees local police forces, said Abe’s killing was the result of police failure to fulfill their responsibilities and said it had set up a team to review security and protection measures and consider specific measures. to prevent such a serious incident from recurring. “We recognize that there were problems not only in the response on the ground, such as the installation of security and protection, staff deployment and fundamental security procedures, but also the way in which the National Police Service was involved,” it said in response. to questions from Reuters. Reuters could not reach Yamagami, who remains in custody, for comment and could not determine if he had a lawyer.
“It could have been avoided”
Footage showed four bodyguards inside guardrails as Abe spoke, according to Koichi Ito, a former sergeant in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s special assault squad and now a security adviser. Their number was confirmed by local politician Masahiro Okuni, who was at the scene. When the former prime minister rose to speak, Yamagami could be seen on video in the background applauding. As Yamagami walked behind Abe, security did not appear to take action, the video showed. Abe should have had a dedicated close-guard bodyguard to escort him out, said a member of the US Diplomatic Security Service, which protects senior diplomats and foreign officials. “We were grabbing him by the belt and collar, shielding him with our bodies and walking away,” the agent said. Katsuhiko Ikeda, a former Tokyo police chief who oversaw security for Japan’s G8 summits in 2000 and 2008, said the situation would have turned out very differently if Abe’s security detail had been close enough to reach him in a second or two. Ito, the former police sergeant, said security could have stopped the first shooting if they had been alert and communicating. “Even if they missed it, there was a window of over two seconds before the second shot, so they certainly could have prevented it,” he said. “If Abe had been properly protected, it could have been avoided.”
