'Failure to Protect Abe' Japanese Police Involved in Collision with Security Vehicle Carrying Abe's Wife

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife, Akie Abe [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Japanese police, who were criticized for failing to prevent the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have now caused an accident by rear-ending the car carrying Abe's wife, Akie.

According to NHK and other sources on the 26th, the accident occurred the previous morning on the Metropolitan Expressway passing through Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. This area was a section where lanes merged and reduced, and another security vehicle following the car carrying Mrs. Akie collided with it. Kyodo News reported that the cause appeared to be the driver of the following security car not paying proper attention to the road ahead.

There were no injuries, and no other vehicles besides the security cars were involved in the accident. The Metropolitan Police Department stated, "We will thoroughly conduct training going forward to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents."

Former Prime Minister Abe was shot and killed by Tetsuya Yamagami with a homemade gun while campaigning in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, on the 8th, ahead of the House of Councillors election. Yamagami fired once from about 7 meters behind Abe and once from about 5 meters away; Abe collapsed after the second shot.

At the scene, multiple security personnel, including SP (Security Police) officers from the Metropolitan Police Department responsible for protecting important figures, were deployed. However, despite the three-second interval between the first and second shots, the security guards did not take actions such as surrounding and protecting former Prime Minister Abe, leading to ongoing criticism of the security failure.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.