TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday blamed inadequate police protection for the death of former leader Shinzo Abe, who was shot while giving an outdoor campaign speech.
Abe, one of Japan’s most influential politicians, was assassinated last Friday in western Japan, shocking a nation known for its low crime rate. Photos and videos of the shooting show the gunman was able to come close to Abe.
Officials at the National Public Safety Commission and National Police Agency are investigating what went wrong and will come up with measures, Kishida said.
“I urge them to fix what needs to be fixed, while also studying examples in other countries,” he said.
Kishida also announced plans to hold a state funeral for Abe later this year, noting his contributions at home and in boosting Japan’s security alliance with the United States.
A smaller funeral ceremony was held at a temple in Tokyo on Tuesday for Abe, whose nationalistic views drove the governing party’s conservative policies.
A suspect was arrested immediately after Abe was shot on Friday and is being held for questioning. Police and media reports say he told investigators that a rumored link between Abe and a religious group the suspect hated was the reason he killed the former prime minister.
The suspect, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, served briefly in Japan’s navy. He was reportedly upset because his mother made large donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted the family.
The assassination of Abe has shed a light on links between the governing Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church, which is known for its conservative and anti-communist beliefs and its mass weddings.
The Japan branch of the South Korean-based church confirmed on Monday that Yamagami’s mother was a member and that Abe was not. Abe has appeared in video messages to groups affiliated with the church.
Japan PM blames police for death of former leader Shinzo Abe
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Japan PM blames police for death of former leader Shinzo Abe
- Shinzo Abe, one of Japan’s most influential politicians, was assassinated last Friday in western Japan
Iran hacking group claims attack on US medical company
- It issued an open warning to what it described as “Zionist leaders and their lobbies,” adding: “This is only the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare.”
WASHINGTON: An Iran-linked hacking group claimed responsibility on Wednesday for a sweeping cyberattack on US medical technology giant Stryker, saying it had wiped more than 200,000 systems and extracted 50 terabytes of data in retaliation for military strikes on Iran.
“Our major cyber operation has been executed with complete success,” Handala said in a statement, describing the attack as retaliation for what it called “the brutal attack on the Minab school” and for “ongoing cyber assaults against the infrastructure of the Axis of Resistance.”
The group said it had shut down Stryker offices in 79 countries and that all extracted data was “now in the hands of the free people of the world.”
It issued an open warning to what it described as “Zionist leaders and their lobbies,” adding: “This is only the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare.”
Founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Stryker is a global medical device giant with some 56,000 employees and $25.12 billion in 2025 revenues, making everything from orthopedic implants and surgical instruments to hospital beds and robotic surgery systems.
The Handala group later posted that it had also carried out an attack on Verifone, which specializes in electronic and point-of-sale payments.
The outages began shortly after 0400 GMT on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Windows devices — including laptops and mobile phones connected to Stryker’s networks — were remotely wiped.
