Shinzo Abe is gone, but his controversial vision for Japan lives on

Sunday’s elections delivered a landslide victory for the assassinated leader's party. Years after he left office, his dream of amending Japan’s constitution is getting closer, writes Jeff Kingston
Shinzo Abe is gone, but his controversial vision for Japan lives on

Police inspect a sidewalk near the site where former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe was fatally shot in Nara, western Japan. Picture: Kyodo News via AP

The assassination of Shinzo Abe still hasn’t really sunk in, but the tremors are rippling across Japan and the world. 

He was shot from behind in a nation where firearm-related homicides are rare: in 2021, there was just one, compared with more than 20,000 in the US. It was an assault on democracy and an act of barbarism.

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