Nara police chief takes ‘responsibility’ for Abe assassination
The police chief of the Japanese city of Nara said he “takes responsibility” for the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“After the first report of the incident came at 11:30 a.m., and the situation was revealed, it was the height of the guilt and regret I’ve felt in my 27 years in law enforcement,” Nara Prefectural Police Chief Tomoaki Onizuka told reporters in a Saturday news conference, CNN reported.
Video of the assassination Friday suggested a lack of attention to the open space behind Abe as he made a campaign speech ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary election.
“I feel the weight of my responsibility,” an emotional Onizuka continued. “We can’t deny that there were problems with the security plan given how things ended.”
Abe was gunned down in a rare act of political violence for Japan. Abe, a staunch nationalist and anti-Communist, worked closely with the United States.
With Post Wires
