On Friday, President Joe Biden visited the house of the Japanese ambassador in Washington and signed the condolence book for Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan who had been killed earlier in the day.
Biden placed a little bouquet next to a photo of Shinzo Abe before signing the book. After delivering his message, he engaged in brief conversation with Koji Tomita, the Japanese ambassador to the United States.
Biden "Stunned, Outraged" Over Shinzo Abe's Assassination
Ahead of Sunday's elections for the upper house of Japan's parliament, Shinzo Abe, 67, was shot twice in the neck while making a campaign address in Nara, approximately 20 miles east of Osaka. His enormous blood loss and the fact that one of the bullets made it all the way to his heart were subsequently discovered by doctors, according to NY Post.
I am stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened by the news that my friend Abe Shinzo, former Prime Minister of Japan, was shot and killed. He was a champion of the friendship between our people.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 8, 2022
The United States stands with Japan in this moment of grief.
Testuya Yamagami, 41, the alleged shooter, has been placed in custody. After Shinzo Abe was killed, Biden first expressed his shock and outrage, calling the crime "stunning."
Biden also took a minute to reflect on recent mass shootings in America, saying: "We know that violent attacks are never acceptable and that gun violence always leaves a permanent scar on the communities who are impacted by it, even though there are many aspects that we do not yet know." Biden issued a proclamation mandating that US flags on state grounds be flown at half-staff through Sunday in order to further honor the late prime minister.
In contrast to the "between three and four thousand cases" that have already occurred in the United States, Biden said that Abe's murder was the "first use of a weapon to murder someone in Japan" this year.
Kishida is "a very, very stable ally, and [he does] not feel it's likely to have, but I don't know yet, any fundamental destabilizing influence on Japanese security or Japanese unity," he said, Washington Examiner reported.
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Other US Leaders Paid Respect to Former Japan Prime Minister
The White House is preparing for a ceremony to commemorate the enactment of a new US when Biden made his previous comments to reporters. Although Biden has urged to incorporate an assault weapons ban, the first such bill in years does not include strong gun control provisions.
Following the mass shooting at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, the White House has not yet presented a new approach. In the wake of the terrible killing of the former Japanese prime minister, who was shot while campaigning in Nara, Japan, for members of his party, Biden led a legion of condolences from international leaders and previous American presidents.
Donald Trump urged that Shinzo Abe's killer be dealt with "swiftly and harshly," while Barack Obama praised Shinzo Abe's love to his nation. Biden, in a long statement, called Abe's slaying a "tragedy," saying violent acts are never acceptable and leave a profound scar.
According to statistics from the University of Sydney, nine people died from weapons in Japan in 2018, compared to 39,740 in the US. Size is not the primary determinant because Japan has a population of 125 million compared to the US's 330 million.
According to the National Police Agency of Japan, there was just one gun-related fatality in Japan in 2021 compared to 45,034 in the US. A 2022 University of Washington research revealed that there were 4 gun-related homicides per 100,000 people in the US, compared to 0.02 per 100,000 people in Japan. Japan has stringent gun restrictions, a protracted application procedure, background checks, test requirements, and a prohibition on handgun ownership, as per Daily Mail.
