How Shinzo Abe’s murder and his ties to Moonies blindsided Japanese politics

It was hoped Abe’s state funeral in September 2022 would achieve closure but the fallout from his assassination is still being felt. Photograph: Franck Robichon/AP

In the days after Shinzo Abe was shot dead last summer while making an election campaign speech, commentators struggled to articulate a motive for a seemingly senseless attack on Japan’s former and longest-serving prime minister in a country admired for its near-absence of gun crime.

Abe’s violent death was an affront to democracy, said the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, adding that his mentor would be honoured with a state funeral.