Statement on the Shooting against Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

• Japanese

Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe was shot from behind in Nara City around 11:30 a.m. on July 8th, 2022, while delivering a speech in support of a political candidate in the election campaign of the House of Councilors.

Threatening precious human lives by firearms during election campaign speeches is intolerable. Regardless of motive, such a despicable action not only makes the citizens feel unsafe, but also results in the suppression of freedom of speech and must be considered a serious attack on fundamental human rights and democracy.

From the standpoint of the JFBA’s mission to protect fundamental human rights and achieve social justice, we express our strong contempt for this outrageous act and will continue to make further efforts to guarantee freedom of expression. In addition, we hereby determine to fulfill the mission of attorneys to eradicate such violent acts and firearm-related crimes from society.