Japan ASSASSINATION Announcement – American Leader Reacts
(TheRedWire.com) – Since the end of World War II, Japan has been a strong US ally and a vital partner in the Asian Pacific. On Friday, July 8, world leaders learned of the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. People globally greatly respected the former prime minister, and many said the international community lost a true statesman.
Ahead of Sunday elections in Japan, the 67-year-old political giant was speaking on the street during a political rally. Suddenly, a shot rang out with a large amount of smoke, followed by another just three seconds later. Abe grabbed his chest and fell to the ground. Five and half hours after the incident, doctors officially pronounced Abe dead. Former President Donald Trump felt close to the former Japanese leader and offered his heartfelt reaction to the assassination.
First Assassination in Japan Since 1936
Japan, considered one of the safest countries in the world, has some of the strongest gun laws. Authorities confirmed that Abe’s murderer used a handmade gun. Police arrested 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami. Allegedly, the suspect told authorities he wasn’t happy with Shinzo and wanted to kill him.
It was the first assassination of a current or former prime minister of Japan since 1936. When Abe came to power in 2006, Japan’s economy was in shambles. He was the youngest prime minister since Fumimaro Konoe in 1941. Abe’s economic reforms were so successful that economists and the media labeled his policies after him.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said one of the former prime minister’s legacies is that economists will study Abenomics to beat back stagnation and recessions aggressively.
Trump Reacts to the Bad News
Former President Donald Trump said very few people would truly know how great a man or a leader Abe was. The former president said Shinzo was a tremendous unifier but, more importantly, a man who deeply loved his country. He said there wouldn’t be another leader like him.
In 2020, Trump lavished praise on the then-Japanese prime minister. Reuters said that the two leaders grew very close and that Abe ingratiated himself to then-President Trump. Trump declared that Abe was the “greatest prime minister in Japan’s history.”
A separate report by The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSCIS) said the two men saw each other as close political and personal confidants. In addition, the organization said no other world leader was as close to Trump as Abe. Over three years, the men met 20 times, played golf together five times, and spoke by phone 32 times.
In the end, diplomacy and friendship benefited both Japan and the United States.
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