Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assassinated

[tim]

Yeah I'm pretty sure Reagan had a security detail when he was shot, as did Yitzhak Rabin, JFK etc..

Spencer Percival.

 

[Yossarian]

I wouldn't be surprised if his security was a little lax, an average of only around six people in Japan are fatally shot every year, which probably equals the number of people shot dead by dogs or babies in the US annually.

 

[platinumsage]

Inejirō Asanuma was stabbed.

 

[frogwoman]

Seems like the guy who shot him might have been some sort of conspiracy theorist?

 

[maomao]

Fucked up with the risk assessment then!

Not really. The chances of politicians in Japan being attacked and killed by lone gunmen were and remain very low indeed.

 

[platinumsage]

Seems like the guy who shot him might have been some sort of conspiracy theorist?

No surprise there I suppose, it was unlikely to be a centrist mildly dissatisfied with his GDP targets.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Not really. The chances of politicians in Japan being attacked and killed by lone gunmen were and remain very low indeed.

Not sure you understand what a risk assessment is but they're generally not concluded simply by being unlikely.

 

[frogwoman]

Any good podcasts or stuff to read on Japanese politics? I know one woman who is very worried this will lead to instability and a right wing/security state backlash.

 

[Pickman's model]

Any good podcasts or stuff to read on Japanese politics? I know one woman who is very worried this will lead to instability and a right wing/security state backlash.

it will all end in tears

 

[Artaxerxes]

Any good podcasts or stuff to read on Japanese politics? I know one woman who is very worried this will lead to instability and a right wing/security state backlash.

In Japan? How would you notice?

 

[maomao]

Not sure you understand what a risk assessment is but they're generally not concluded simply by being unlikely.

I do actually and am currently being trained in them. If I take a bunch of kids on a train to London then the possibility exists that one of them could be assaulted by a member of the public but as long as the risk is low enough and the benefit to the children of the trip is clear I don't have to prevent them from coming into contact with the public entirely I just to have to ensure that I know what I'm going to do if it does happen. I assume whoever did the risk assessment felt that the risk of being attacked by a lone gunman in a country with almost no public gun ownership was outweighed by the benefits of having that politician able to get close to members of the public.

 

[JimW]

I'd read you just become a private citizen with no assigned security when you retire from politics in Japan, should think if that's true the blokes in the pics will have been event/campaign specific.

 

[A380]

Seems a bit random. Do ex Japanese PMs not have any security detail?

Close protection officers can’t do much about people who don’t mind getting shot / nicked.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I do actually and am currently being trained in them. If I take a bunch of kids on a train to London then the possibility exists that one of them could be assaulted by a member of the public but as long as the risk is low enough and the benefit to the children of the trip is clear I don't have to prevent them from coming into contact with the public entirely I just to have to ensure that I know what I'm going to do if it does happen. I assume whoever did the risk assessment felt that the risk of being attacked by a lone gunman in a country with almost no public gun ownership was outweighed by the benefits of having that politician able to get close to members of the public.

Yes, they may have concluded that. But it wasn't a successful conclusion because the person under their care got assassinated.

 

[A380]

PMs in the UK( along with Northern Ireland Secretaries) get police protection for life if they want it. Home Secretaries can request it. I think they have to pay for all the ancillary stuff that comes with it though.

 

[platinumsage]

Close protection officers can’t do much about people who don’t mind getting shot / nicked.

Well, they can shoot them for a start.

 

[A380]

Well, they can shoot them for a start.

Sometimes. But often it will be shooting them more towards the middle or end of the event than at the start…

 

[Elpenor]

PMs in the UK( along with Northern Ireland Secretaries) get police protection for life if they want it. Home Secretaries can request it. I think they have to pay for all the ancillary stuff that comes with it though.

Used to see May’s detail on the A4 sometimes as I lived a few miles from her

 

[A380]

Yes, they may have concluded that. But it wasn't a successful conclusion because the person under their care got assassinated.

Doesn’t mean the risk assessment was wrong though. Although someone might have fucked up the intelligence collection. Or not if the bloke was acting on his own, with a home made weapon, and didn’t tell anyone…

 

[platinumsage]

Sometimes. But often it will be shooting them more towards the middle or end of the event than at the start…

Only if they've learnt nothing from cowboy movies, although with only six gun thingies in the country I suppose they might have their eye off the ball.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Doesn’t mean the risk assessment was wrong though. Although someone might have fucked up the intelligence collection. Or not if the bloke was acting on his own, with a home made weapon, and didn’t tell anyone…

So you think in the coming days the risk assessment won’t be looked at and reviewed for the future?
It’s a bit weird that everyone on an Internet forum has decided that it was obviously ok.

 

[maomao]

Yes, they may have concluded that. But it wasn't a successful conclusion because the person under their care got assassinated.

If Abe had been struck by lightning would you think the risk assessment had been fucked up?

 

[JimW]

Well, they can shoot them for a start.

I was impressed that they clearly got stuck right in without unnecessarily drawing their weapons in a public place.

 

[Cid]

Shooting at people in a chaotic scene with bystanders is generally a pretty bad idea. On account of the bystanders.

If there's risk assessment critique to be had here, probably more about the fact this guy was able to get so (apparently) close.

 

[Cid]

Ouch, the graun has decided to stick that clip of him sitting in a plane marked 731 as its illustration of 'Abe expanded Japan's military' (about 33 seconds in).

Shinzo Abe death: shock in Japan at killing of former PM during election campaign

Police believe attacker bore grudge against Abe as some critics question level of security surrounding Japan’s longest-serving PM

www.theguardian.com

 

[tonysingh]

Ouch, the graun has decided to stick that clip of him sitting in a plane marked 731 as its illustration of 'Abe expanded Japan's military' (about 33 seconds in).

Shinzo Abe death: shock in Japan at killing of former PM during election campaign

Police believe attacker bore grudge against Abe as some critics question level of security surrounding Japan’s longest-serving PM

www.theguardian.com

I get the reference but it's gonna be a niche one and unlike the assassins bullet, it'll fly over the heads of most.

 

[Cid]

I get the reference but it's gonna be a niche one and unlike the assassins bullet, it'll fly over the heads of most.

True:

Unit 731 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It was pretty big news in Korea (and probably China) I think. The picture I mean. Certainly when I was in China my Korean friends (early 20s) were still talking about it around 5 years after the fact.

 

[A380]

I was impressed that they clearly got stuck right in without unnecessarily drawing their weapons in a public place.

Likewise. Top drills. The woman officer was obviously about to draw her weapon then decided it wasn’t necessary. Pretty good.

An American team would have had their carbines out and pointing at the crowd at that point.

 

[tonysingh]

True:

Unit 731 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It was pretty big news in Korea (and probably China) I think. The picture I mean. Certainly when I was in China my Korean friends (early 20s) were still talking about it around 5 years after the fact.

I only learned about Unit 731 after watching the film Men Behind The Sun. I've read more about it since but...yeah.

 

[A380]

Ouch, the graun has decided to stick that clip of him sitting in a plane marked 731 as its illustration of 'Abe expanded Japan's military' (about 33 seconds in).

Shinzo Abe death: shock in Japan at killing of former PM during election campaign

Police believe attacker bore grudge against Abe as some critics question level of security surrounding Japan’s longest-serving PM

www.theguardian.com

Poisonous…