TOKYO (RVA News): “I am deeply saddened and shocked to hear the news of the attack on the former prime minister of Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe. I feel not only sadness but also indignation as this is a violent challenge to what we believe in this country,” Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo said as he condemned the assassination of the former Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in Nara Prefecture, on July 8, saying that no one has the right to stifle criticism with violence.
“Violence kills democracy. Violence kills freedom. Violence kills justice. The differences of political opinion have to be solved through dialogue and voting in freedom. Only dialogue provides real solution to establish justice and peace,” Archbishop Kikuchi said.
The 67-year-old Abe was campaigning for local candidates for the upper house of Japan’s parliament when he was fatally shot in the back at close range with a handmade gun.
The former prime minister was evacuated to a hospital, but officials reported that he had stopped breathing and his heart had stopped. The hospital later confirmed his death.
Police apprehended the suspect, and the BBC reported that they said the suspect held a grudge against a “specific organisation” and media quoting sources close to the investigation said the assassin believed Abe to be linked to a religious group which had ruined his mother financially.
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party went on to win a super majority on July 10, ahead of his wake and funeral, CNN reported.
Violence kills democracy. Violence kills freedom. Violence kills justice. The differences of political opinion have to be solved through dialogue and voting in freedom. Only dialogue provides real solution to establish justice and peace
Archbishop Kikuchi
“Though we, the Catholic Bishops of Japan, and the late prime minister had great differences in opinion over several issues, including nuclear disarmament, nuclear energy policy, and the pacifist constitution, including the understanding of Article 9, Mr. Abe showed great respect to the Catholic Church, particularly to the Holy See, as he must have understood the influence of the Holy Father on international society over the peace issue,” the archbishop said.
“That respect for the Holy Father resulted from the pastoral visit of the Holy Father to Japan in November 2019. Mr. Abe and the Holy Father met in Tokyo for a private discussion on several issues, and both agreed to continue to advocate for a world without nuclear weapons, the eradication of poverty, human rights, and the protection of the environment,” Archbishop Kikuchi said, adding that both leaders aimed for the same goals, but their approaches were not the same.
Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, having served twice, from 2006-2007 and then from 2012-2020. His ideas on remilitarising Japan and his revisionist views on Japan’s behaviour during World War II were controversial.
“No one has right to use violence to silence opposition,” Archbishop Kikuchi said, noting that Abe’s contribution to Japan should be duly respected, “and I pray for his eternal rest and blessings to his family members.”
Vatican News reported on July 9 that Pope Francis as offered his “heartfelt condolences” in a telegramme sent through Vatican secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, to the nuncio to Japan.
The pope expressed deep sadness and said, “In the wake of this senseless act, that Japanese society will be strengthened in its historic commitment to peace and nonviolence.”
