Japan national police chief resigns over Shinzo Abe assassination
India Today
Japan's national police chief has resigned over the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A police report had found holes in Abe's police protection that allowed the attacker to shoot him from behind.
Japan's national police chief has resigned from the post on Thursday taking responsibility for the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a campaign speech last month.
National Police Agency Chief Itaru Nakamura's announcement came as his agency released a report on how it failed to protect Abe's life on July 8 when he was assassinated in Nara in western Japan.
The police report found holes in Abe's police protection that allowed the attacker to shoot him from behind.
Nakamura said he took the former prime minister's death seriously and that he submitted his resignation to the National Public Safety Commission earlier on Thursday.
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“In order to fundamentally reexamine guarding and never to let this happen, we need to have a new system,” Nakamura told a news conference as he announced his intention to step down.
The alleged gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested at the scene and is currently under mental evaluation until late November. Yamagami told police that he targeted Abe because of the former leader's link to the Unification Church, which he hated.
