The Day Former Prime Minister Abe Was Shot

On July 8th, 2022, two days before the House of Councillors election, former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo was shot to death during his cheering speech in front of a station in Nara Prefecture. The sudden demise of Mr. Abe—the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japan’s history with a tenure of eight years and eight months, who had a strong political voice and influence even after his retirement—tremendously shocked the world, not to mention Japan. Initially, some suspected an act of political terrorism because the incident occurred during the election campaign. The statement of arrested suspect, however, brought attention to the relationships between a religious group previously known as the Unification Church, now called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, and politicians. In the meantime, the Japanese government decided to hold a state funeral of Mr. Abe, which split public opinion over the pros and cons.This paper investigates and analyzes broadcast reporting on the incident, focusing on the television coverage on July 8th, the day it took place. The author viewed a total of 60-hour broadcasts of NHK and commercial key stations, based on which, as well as on interviews with announcers, this paper delves into the initial moves of broadcasters after they received the first news of the event. In addition, the author examined the content of reporting on that day, including the “review of security measures” that was featured by each station from the viewpoint of why the incident could not have been prevented. Furthermore, the paper analyzes how each station represented “Abe Shinzo as a politician” that was reported after his death had been informed; as a result, keywords such as “presence” and “both good and bad aspects” emerged.This paper had been completed before Mr. Abe’s state funeral was conducted, and the issues concerning the former Unification Church and politicians are ongoing. These two aspects are significant themes in discussing a dimension of Japanese society, which was illuminated by this incident, and the author will continue examining them as ongoing issues.