i wrote a piece for t"the japan times" almost five years ago, what japan can teach the u.s. about guns, and it was after the las vegas mass shooting. and i just -- i really -- i know that when i talk to my students in japan, we almost can't even go there, we can't even talk about this way that we live in the united states, with using a gun as a form of protection. it's very upsetting. and so, it's too hypersensitive, really, a discussion point. well, now it's been brought home and it's been brought home to really the -- the national face brand of this country, for so many years. he's still a major statesman. he was recently interviewed during the quad meeting by the indian news, he had a sitdown interview. he looked very well. i'm worried that we're not getting an update on his condition, because i think, again, it's going to be such a shock. and i'm already hearing from japanese friends reporting what has happened there and it's -- it's hard, really, to formulate any words right now, but i just pray for the comfort of the people in japan. and it's a wonderful country. many

abe, again, the longest-serving prime minister in japan and the youngest prime minister in japan, first elected in 2006 before stepping down after his third term in august 2020 because of health concerns. now, despite stepping down, abe remained a key player in japanese politics, speaking very candidly about taiwan and hinting at japan's military role in taiwan. laura, just to talk about, you know, gun violence briefly here in japan, really almost nonexistent. the number of annual deaths resulting from firearms hasn't reached triple digits since the year 2000 with the number of homicides involving gun often in single digits. and the reason for that, you know, according to gun control advocates is because of the regulations here in japan that are extremely restrictive as a result of a 1958 firearm and sword law. most guns are illegal in the country. in order to possess a weapon, you have to obtain special approval, passing mental health checks, background checks, explain to police why you need a gun, receive formal instruction and pass a collection of written mental and drug tests. and w

and japan alirns was crucial to the security of japan. instead of putting president trump through the official traditional japanese banquet and what not, he knew what to do. he took president trump for a hamburger in tokyo and they played golf together. and president trump answered the phone for shinzo abe. and did what he cajoled and coaxed him to do. they even called him, kim, the trump whisperer. it shows how much of a figure and presence that he was. and he was able to do what many world leaders were not, which is to have a productive and beneficial working relationship with president trump. it speaks a lot with abe, to deal with whomever may have been in office at the time. >> thanks so much, will ripley. appreciate it. >>> want to go to salena wang in beijing. abe is not afraid to stir the pot when it comes to china, maybe drawing a contrast with the current prime minister. >> his legacy is going to be paving the way for this hawkish view on china. when he was stepping down with the current prime minister, he was upushing for ka a m

partly in japan, because of his push to bolster japan's military. he wanted to revise the passavist constitution, he wanted to restore the country to previous economic military powers, restore national pride. it is impossible, really, to overstate how influential he was over japanese society, politics even after he stepped down. he is and was a political giant. we are seeing the impact of this around the world with global leaders rushing to express their condolences. i was based in japan before this posting and when i am speaking to people in japan in is an overwhelming sense of disbelief. culturally, of course, because gun violence is nonexistent and because of how influential he is. >> i wanted to dial into your experience covering japan. how rare is this type of political attack? >> incredibly. incredibly rare. reports the last one was decades ago. and, to have this level, this gun violence happen to one of the most influential leaders ever, they are shaking, violence overall is so rare. one of the safest places to live. incredibly hard to get a

in japan, loneliness is managed. since last year there's even been an extra government ministry, which is supposed to coordinate all offers of help and support. this is because loneliness is now considered one of the nation's biggest health issues. so that if we want a society where it's possible to talk openly about loneliness, to do that, we need a support network. the ministry says everyone can manage law newness as long as they not themselves caught in a vicious cycle of despair and shame and a robot cafe could be the perfect place to come into contact with people again nazi for to ne, on t w, use asia, a small from the region and the killing of since obey on d, w dot com, forward slash asia and on social media t w news. i'm jared read way back on monday. have a good weekend of i imagine how many pushes lunch. turn out in the world. climate change very often story. this is my plan, the way from just one week. how much was can really get we still have time to act. i'm going with it is with all say will gray, he wi

a really, really booster tourism to japan. that was one area where obey nomics was certainly a success. but in most of its other goals, it fell short of what it had hoped. ok, let's look a little bit more broadly to, to the region. what kind of legacy did he leave for the rest of asia? and particularly looking at china and south korea here. oh, okay. oh, so i think it would be fair to say that our bay was probably a lot more popular outside of the immediate region of japan than he was with the immediate neighbors, like south korea or china. in the case of south korea, i think the, there was a lot of tensions in relationship ave was very dedicated to the idea of sort of playing down and revising japan's pre world war 2 history of, of the conquest of asia. and this did not go down very well with koreans who spent 50 years as a clonal possession of japan. i with the case of china, is that also was an aggravating factor. but also the fact that jip ave was very dedicated to tour of a re militarize ing and building up japan security

this has shaken not only the political landscape in japan but people's sense of japan itself, of japan as a peaceful, safe, stable nation. >> yeah. if you could, talk about his stature there over the past 20 yore years. obviously, the longest serving prime minister in japanese history. he comes from a family that's dominated japanese politics in the post-war era, and also really on the cutting edge as it pertained to moving away from a post-war stand of pat, being a pacifist nation. talk about that. and the impact he's had on the country's politics over the past 20 years. >> it's really hard to overstate how consequential abe has been for japan. you know, not just the longest serving prime minister, but in many ways, a prime minister who transformed the country's direction, particularly, as you mentioned, in security policy and foreign policy. seeking really to carve out a more prominent role for japan on the world stage. you know, under his administration, you saw japan begin to really be active in asia and in the world in a way that hadn't been the case since the second world war. yo

-japan alliance. for more on his impact, we are joined by christopher john who served as director of east asia in the security council. i know when prime minister abe came here for the state dinner, you were part of that delegation. how will you remember the prime minister's impact? christopher: thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here today. as your segment noted upfront, abe was a transformational figure in japan. one of the most consequential prime ministers and japan's history. he came to office with a determination, a mission to restore japan as a leader in the world, and he brought a comprehensive strategy to do it. he was head of the curve in recognizing china as a threat to the international order and designed a strategy to manage relations with beijing. he had an ambitious economic strategy. he brought japan into the transpacific partnership in 2013. he kept japan in the agreement and kept the agreement together after the u.s. pulled out in 2017 under president trump. and finally, h

so i had a very strategic logic about how to defend japan, and he understood japan's worst nightmare would to be, have 3 front problems, the threat of china, the threat of north korea and the threat of russia. so he, they strategically attempted diplomacy with russia and reached out to vladimir putin, met him over 20 times. and by doing that, he basically eliminated the threat that russia wouldn't be japan. so he could focus on north korea and china and during the trump years, because trump was engaged in north korea, there was a little threat that north korea would attack. so basically, i could focus solely on china. the issue now is that because i didn't, administration is basically ignoring those create those korean threat has emerged again and because of ukraine, the russia threat has the most again to japan for the 1st time in many decades has a 3 from problem. and there is discussion of doubling the defense budget, but to face the re thread, some experts say that you may need to triple it. what is needed, therefore, for the new government, for the government going forward, is t

. >> japan's growth will be revised, and projections for inflation in japan are revised slightly upward. however, inflation is still very low in japan. >> she says in light of the situation, the bank of japan and the monetary easing policy is appropriate. trying to a cyber security watchdog has found dd global nearly $1.2 billion for mishandling user data. >>> the cyberspace administration of china said on thursday, they were collecting user information in violation of security laws, it also said the firm's data collection practices seriously threatened national security. the chinese government launched the investigation immediately after they debuted the u.s. stock market in june last year. beijing has also ordered the withdrawal of the firm's mobile app from stores. they ended the year in the net loss of over $7 billion, and the company shares were delisted from the new york stock exchange last month at its own request. experts say that beijing is concerned that data held by chinese firms is being linked to the united states, officials at the same time have been cracking down on i.t.

japan as well. all ri >> reporter: and the nature of the suspected weapon, cobbled together, almost impossible to get a gun in japan without extensive paperwork. i can't think of anyone that i know personally who was in possession of any sort of weapon like that. and this is a country where you fly domestically at the airport, you know, they barely check you before you get on the plane. there really is a very different feeling once you are inside japan in terms of safety, in terms of feeling that this is a place where annual crime statistics especially when it comes to gun relate ded deaths so long, more than 120 million people and you maybe have a dozen shootings throughout the whole country. and every time there is a country, it is the lead story on the national news because it is so rare. and it is always usually gang members that are fighting each other over property disputes. territory dispurts. so it is really extraordinary that this happened. it certainly will really shock and resonate throug

, for japan, self defense forces. that is something new and it's not something that necessarily resulted from ave me. i mean, i think he was planning as he should govern repairs to revise it's majors church, major defense strategy documents. later this year, i mean ave, was prepared to push for bigger changes in those documents, but he was not necessarily the one driving the public change. i think that was a more organic response to what happened. what's happened in ukraine to be his hairs. we appreciate your time and your insights. good talking with you today is hope we can talk with you again. thank you. thank you. ah, who will be the next british prime minister? the race is on to replace boards. johnston who announced his resignation. thursday, after 2 days. that's all dozens of government officials quit. johnson's conservative party is due next monday to announce a time table for selecting a new party leader and prime minister of the goal is to have a new leader in place by summers n. johnson says he will stay on

she's a former for bright scholar in japan. well, i actually live in japan. i retired early from cal state fullerton, and i've lived in japan off and on the last 10 years. so my entire fellowship era there has really coincided with the return of ave, in the 2nd term. and i've written extensively about ave, in his leadership sometimes critically, but never about the man as a leader on the global stage. he's been extraordinary. this is a terrible loss for japan and for the world, he had a personal style in dealing with other leaders from trump, to modi. to even working closer with g in the pre coven era of 2019 china and japan had closer relations. so this is a shock to the system to the national psyche of the japanese people. they do not expect this type of violence to happen internally and to this statesman, this representation of japan. he's really the biggest political leader for japan in this century. and it's about what will, who's legacy beaver? i mean he was a polarizing figure, but at the same time he demanded that japan move forward. well yes he was p

japan's military. this will not understate the shock for japan's domestic politics and japan's people, and the global stage. tom: i am seeing on my feet in the bloomberg headquarters in new york, mr. kishida finishing his remarks in tokyo. all of the ark of the political dynasty of the abe family goes back to 1945 in an arch debate in japan about how to reassert any form of military presence. abe had the courage to hold off the altar nationalists. did he pay for this morning? enda: he tried to strike a balance in his policy, defense and foreign policy. like you mentioned, on the one hand, he had a deal with calls at home to bolster japan's hawkish policy to give the ministry a bigger role. he was also credited with mending relations with china. those relations with china have come a long way until the hong kong issue. then, the pandemic. a lot of what abe was trying to do was focused on the global stage, leaving the economy on a mixed legacy. the big takeaway for abe will be hawkish policy on the globa

if that meant globalizing japan it, opening japan to the world, welcoming tourism and opening japan to trade, he was going to do that, even if you look at traditional conservatives and rural japan it, even if a meant -- it meant taking those on, he was willing to do that. he wasn't a reformer, he did recognize that japan had to open to foreign influences more than it had in the past. tom: explain to us how the response will be from the emperor and his family? it is such a unique relationship. how will the emperor respond to the assassination? tobias: of course, there were plenty of moments with the current emperor, between shinzo abe and the former emperor. what it comes down to, in moments like this that are shocking and tragic for the nation, the imperial household steps up and serves as voice to those feelings of the nation. i would expect as much from the emperor. i don't think there will be a moment of political tension. the emperor speaks on behalf of the public. kailey: you were talking about how he looked globally. he was a unique figure in japanese politics and that he did hav

is he a divisive figure in japan? well, he certainly, i think one of the more polarizing figures in japanese politics are that we've seen for several decades. and i think he was the kind of figure who inspired, i think a tremendous almost adoration from his supporters. but also i think strong feelings of opposition from people who disagreed with his policies. but i think beyond that, i mean, i think this kind of even, even at the worst moments of his premiership, where you saw massive protests against government, this kind of action against him would have been unthinkable. and yeah, you're now the and he's over 2 years out of office. it's even more unthinkable the longest serving prime minister in japan also that brief tenure some years earlier, full start you might say, but was he a good prime minister? what did he do to improve people's lives? i think even beyond the total, totaling up the, the pluses and minuses of his policies. i mean, i think you have to look at even bigger than that. and the fact is, as he was f

trying to reshape japan's role in the world stage. one of our these top priorities was amending japan's pacifist constitution. which bars the country from hostile acts except in self defense. but the issue was polarizing with polls suggesting many japanese are opposed to any change. still pushed to change the constitution right up until the end. but his conservatism would lead to new frictions with his neighbors. a spat with south korea of japan's war time legacy resulted in the worst diplomatic and trade dispute for decades that contributed to japan's continuing economic problems. he also stood controversy with his neighbors . his 2013 visit to the jasa cooney shrine which honors japan's war did. among them some convicted war criminals was widely criticized and he returned several times. but what would turn out to be his last year in office? 2020 brought the devastation of cove at 19. the economy crated ave was widely criticized from his handling the crisis. and soon after he achieved the record as japan's longest serving prime minis

/japan relationship. and i think that that is part of the regular citylegacy that he remembered. >> and overnight we were getting messages of condolences from world leaders. no question here that they are all processing this information. selina wang, josh has talked about the u.s. and japanese alliance, right, how important that was, those strong ties especially in the region, right? this was seen as a move by the united states and japan to strengthen their ties in the face of arising china. >> reporter: absolutely. that is one of his key lasting legacies, bolstering ties with the u.s. in order to cope with increasing anxieties in japan over china. and he really paved the way for this more hawkish view in japan when it comes to china. and even recently abe was behind the scenes encouraging the current prime minister fumio kishida to take a more aggressive stance when it comes to the security issues. he had that cozy relationship with trump, he was able to maintain a sustained relationship with president t

he aligned japan much more firmly with the united states and with the west after concluding that japan could not handle a rising china by itself. you'll notice that when the russians moved against ukraine, even though abe was long out of office by that time, japan didn't waffle the way it would have a number of years ago and join the sanctions. it took a few months, but they joined them. so i think he fundamentally changed the attitude of japanese on this issue and he brought about a reinterpretation of the constitution that allows basically for collective defense, that is to say, it's not just if japan is attacked the u.s. must come to its aid. he was the one who engineered the reverse of that, which is that japan will come to the aid of its allies. >> gordon, abe was no longer prime minister, but yet you say his assassination will have political reverberations across asia. why? >> first thing, he was the leader of the biggest faction in the liberal democratic party, which is the governing ruling group and that means there's going to be a vacuum and a scramble for control because the

japan would likely step in. in fact, they are deploying missile launchers and some of the equipment to outlying islands. a signal that they are ramping up militarization, as china continues its assertive, others say aggressive movements, in the south china sea. and conducting flyovers in the taiwan straight. shinzo abe have a lot of people here in taiwan, who appreciate his efforts on behalf of this island. the taiwanese president said she is sending her best and wishing he can recover from this. it is a extraordinarily startling and troubling to have something like this happen in this part of the world. in asia, we're lulled into a false sense of security because there aren't guns on the street. you don't see mass shootings or gun crimes hardly at all, because of the way the gun crimes are structures, particularly in japan. it's extraordinarily difficult to get a gun through legal means. it's a time that everybody here in the region is taking a step back. you know, trying to catch their breath and certainly, ma

and let me just remind you before we go, the of the main news this our japan, japan's former prime minister, sions, are our bay has died after being shot during a campaign event in the city of nato, we saw a press conference where the hosp, the doctors who treated him in hospital and said that he died at 5 o 3 p. m, local time, or of serious blood loss. emily anglin, here with and use our just a moment. you'll have much born at breaking. i saw an official outline of the journey with with ah ah, what official and line of the journey ah ah ah sure. so i feel really disappointed to have lost someone like this in this way or cause a key, eat the various yourself.

the former prime minister of japan. she has died after he was shot during a campaign event in the city of nora. he was $67.00 japanese and world leaders have been paying tribute to the countries longest serving prime minister embarrass. johnson says he intends to stay on a few k prime minister until members of his conservative party elect his successor . but caused growing for his immediate departure. staying with our top story and these estimation of japan's former prime minister sions by japan is often seen is one of the safest countries in the world. how does that is because of its extremely low gun violence. the number of gun deaths per year is rarely more than 10. police are the only people allowed to have hand guns, hunters and target shoot up emitted to own shot guns and a rifles. but even that involves an all day course and a written test. there are also background and mental fitness checks as well as drug tests. i was allegedly shot by a hand made gun. japan's 1st arrest full possession of a homemade trade, a f

: in japan, this is a rare sight. guns are hardly ever seen here and rarely used in violent crimes. last year according to the country's national police agency there were fewer than a dozen shootings in japan. and just one gun related death. that's in a population of about 125 million people. compare that to the united dates which has more than double the population and start 20,944 gun related deaths last year. that does not include the more than 24,000 suicides last year. why such a start difference between the two countries? strict gun laws. in japan, hand guns are outlawed. in fact, japan's firearm laws only allow for the sale of shotguns and air rifles. this man told cnn, air guns are enough for him saying it is similar to a real gun. and this student said he would be comfortable with a real gun even if he could buy one. buying a gun in japan takes time and lots of patience. to qualify for a firearm license in japan you must attend an all-day class, pass a written test and score at least 95% accuracy on a shootin

i'm getting abigail. japan's democracy will never yield to violence. those are the words of the japanese prime minister for mucous shita, as he promised to go ahead with sundays upper house elections after the assassination of the former leadership, obey the nation of a 125000000 people is in morning. yet many candidates have continued campaigning, saying they will not allow abe's murder to get in the way of the vote. japan's governing liberal democratic party needs to cement its majority to push through a number of reform started by its late leader. during his nearly 10 years, un office since obeyed, tried to revive the economy and made japan a more assertive player in the asia pacific. he was shot while speaking at a political campaign event on friday morning in the southern city of nora police are investigating. if the gunman named does 41 year old to so yeah, yeah, my gummy acted alone. ave, who is still a member of the lower house, had been campaigning in support of a, another candidate. so japan's prime minister and abby's ally says you'll contin

this event has shocked japan. this is a country that has among the most stringent gun laws in the world, gun violence is exceptionally rare. there's 12 steps that a person needs to pass through, including a gun safety course, and an extensive background check, just to be able to buy and own a firearm. this is astonish for people in japan. as well as abe is a political giant. there have been expressions of concern coming from leaders around the world, including the white house, and the secretary of state, as people watch and wait for some news about him. >> and an excellent point there, about just how rare gun violence is in japan. speak to us a little bit more though about abe's, you know, legacy here, as to what sort of career he has had and how is he received there in his home country. >> well, he is very popular. he is very prominent. not everyone has agreed with his politics over the years, but the suspected gunman, according to japanese media, told investigators that he was not motivated by any political beli

in japan, hand guns are outlawed. in fact japan's firearm laws only allow for the sale of shotguns and rifles. this man told cnn error guns are enough for him saying it is similar to a real gun. the student said he would not be comfortable with a real gun even if he could buy one. buying a gun in japan takes time and lots of patience. to qualify for a firearm license in japan you must attend an all-day class, passed the written test, and score at least 95% accuracy on a shooting range test. a mental health evaluation and drug test are also required. mandatory background checks include a review of the purchaser's criminal record, personal debt, connection to organized crime if any, and relationships with family and friends. this former police officer told cnn and took him 40 days to be approved for a gun purchase. this is a tool that can in someone's life, there should be a strict screening process he says. in japan, new gun owners must also register their weapon with police and provide details to law enforcement about

i've been to japan, and gun violence is, you know, basically very, very unheard of in japan. they have very strict gun control laws over there. and it was just such a shock to see a very popular former prime minister, only 67 years old now, gunned down the way he was by this assassin. this is a political assassination. i have no idea what the assassin's goal was, but it certainly was a stunning shock, not only to the people of japan, but people around the world, especially to those of us who have been to japan and have seen what a wonderful country it is. i quickly noted that the u.s. secretary of state tony blinken echoed what all of us feel when he said, this is a very, very, very sad moment. and rahm i emanuel, former congressman, said abe has been an outstanding leader of japan and unwavering ally of the united states, which is true. he worked with so many u.s. presidents and other world leaders and he really did an amazing job and was just heart breaking to see that a former japanese prime minister was assassinated along these lines. and for those of our viewers old enou

was he a divisive figure in japan? well, as for the, the, the motives of the individual gunman, we really don't have enough to say right now. but we can definitely say that, but it was a device, a figure that would be one of the key adjectives that i would use for him. he very much represented the conservative and hard write political opinion in japan. and so for those who more or less accepted and supported those policies, he was a hero and the leader for essentially that movement within the country. so for example, the revision of the constitution, the re militarization of the country getting it involved in sort of efforts to contain china. that was very much the albany position. whereas those obviously who did not, who, who sort of supported the traditional past the post war pacifism or more softer lines from japan. many of them dislike tim or in some cases, even hated. and you have 2 terms as prime minister, the 1st one cut short after are year due to to health problems. and then as we said, he became japan the lon

this is a terrible loss for japan. and for the world he had a personal style in dealing with other leaders from trump, to modi. to even working closer with g in the pre cove, it air of 2019 china and japan had close to relations. so this is a shock to the system to the national psyche of the japanese people. they do not expect this type of violence to happen internally and to this statesman, this representation of japan. he's really the biggest political leader for japan in this century. as nancy snow expert on japanese affairs, let's turn out to some other stories making news around the world. the world's richest man, a lot mosque has dropped his bid to buy twitter. he accused the social media network of withholding information of a fake accounts. twitter says it will suit the tesla boss in an attempt to make him complete the $44000000000.00 deal. the contest to be the next british prime minister is underway, boris johnson announced his resignation. after almost 60 and 60 mph quit his government, following a string of

this is a terrible loss for japan. and for the world he had a personal style in dealing with other leaders from trump, to modi. to even working closer with g in the pre cove ed era, 2019 china and japan had close to relations. so this is a shot to the system to the national psyche of the japanese people. they do not expect this type of violence to happen internally and to the statesman this representation of japan. he's really the biggest political leader for japan in this century. there was nancy snow, a former filbert scholar in japan. here's a quick look now at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. the contest to be the next british prime minister is underway, boris johnson announced his resignation on thursday after almost 60 impedes. quit his government following of stringham political scandals. johnson plans to remain prime minister until the party selects a new leader and go was former president jose edwardo santos have died at the age of 79. once and independence fighter, he rule

he has more on the reaction. japan's prime minister, a few me from japan's prime minister, few mere casita to me. ok. she that really finds himself an extraordinary situation . finding himself confronted, i think by nationwide grief trauma shock and offering off, i think a mix of salis comfort, but also with a sense of defiance. when he 1st arrived back in tokyo, as soon as he realized how grave the situation was, he returned to tokyo. he like others, had been out campaigning for these upper house elections. when he 1st spoke to reporters, he appeared visibly shocked, tearful at describing. this is a barbaric and malicious act. later on when it was confirmed that she had indeed died, that he offered a more defiant tone, saying that these elections must go ahead, must be seen to go ahead. the campaigning will resume tomorrow, saturday and japanese people will go to the polls on sunday saying that, you know, you cannot give way to what he calls political violence. that the election process, the campaigning, has to continue and paying tribute to sions, ab, a personally, as a statesman, as a p

this sent shock waves across japan, around the world. he was such a towering political figure in japan, and also cultivated these very close ties with political leaders around the world. famously managing to have cozy relationships and stable relationship with trump, playing golf with him, eating hamburgers with him, having regular phone calls, something that other political leaders were not able to do. he bolstered security ties with the united states, with other asia pacific countries as a way to counter the growing threat and anxiety with the rising ch china, but also his assassination has sent shock waves across the psyche in japan. this is a country that is considered one of the safest in the world. gun violence virtually nonexistent. in all of 2021, there was only one gun-related death. just one. most guns are illegal. they are incredibly difficult to come by. any potential buyer needs to go through extensive background checks, through a very long, lengthy process. it speaks volumes, the fact that this suspect used what authorities

i went to japan was 3 years ago. i really want to go again. >> people have not been able to travel to japan due to the pandemic. i wanted to create a place that offers a similar experience. it has been popular.>> reporter: when that restrictions are lifted, the quenching measures will remain a sticking point. this is a big fan of a japanese idol group. before the pandemic, she also visited japan to see her favorites performed. sometimes even once a month. since the pandemic started, she has been worried about the long quarantine required after coming home. >> i like to go next year, the quenching measures were returning to china are relaxed.>> reporter: the chinese government recently issued guidelines to shorten the isolation period from 14 period days through down to seven. with their quarantine policies in place, could be sometime before the tourism industry picks up again in japan. >>> [ indiscernible ] has officially stepped down as the president of sri lanka. this comes after months of antigovernment protesting

one thing he - managed to do is he has led japan on a course that has sort of united japan and led japan forward, mobilising its resources towards becoming a more normal nation and thatis becoming a more normal nation and that is trying to get japan to overcome the shackles imposed after the second world war. abe was doing his utmost to try and, if you like, improve the security situation for japan through militarisation of japan, to the advocating of greater global presence through foreign policies. and strengthening the us— japan alliance. i think this is where the real treatment of abe lies. ~ , ., ., where the real treatment of abe lies. ~ ., ., ., , lies. when you read autobiographies of former world _ lies. when you read autobiographies of former world leaders _ lies. when you read autobiographies of former world leaders and - lies. when you read autobiographies of former world leaders and when i lies. when you read autobiographies. of former world leaders and when you hear them speak about shinzo abe today and in the past, they speak particularly warmly of him. they are not just

abe was there in japan, western japan, delivering a stump speech for the liberal democratic candidates ahead of the upper house election which is set for this sunday. of course, while controversial figure here in japan and around the world for his policies, abe is incredibly -- is a huge figure, an important figure here in japan and around the world and news of this shooting has absolutely shocked a nation. now, in the hours following the shooting many people have taken to social media to say that they hope that he would survive and some calling today's shooting a barbaric act that shakes the root of democracy, saying whether or not you agree with his political stances, that violence to suppress political stances is never acceptable. those emotions will only likely deepen with the news that former prime minister shinzo abe has died. brianna, john? >> blake essig, thank you so much for that. we will be checking back in. >> all right. let's go to the white house for reaction right now. cnn's jeremy diamond is there this morning. jeremy, just shocking news. >> reporter: yeah, shocking new

this is a sad day in japan, a sad, very sad day in the u.s./japan relationship. and, yes, this incident is shocking, both for the significance of the figure involved, but also because of the rarity of gun violence in japan. this is a country where it is virtually impossible for a private individual to obtain a firearm. there is something like ten shooting incidents in the entirety of 2021. so very rare, very difficult to get a gun, and that magnifies the impact of this incident for the japanese public. >> let's speak to abe, a transformational figure, longest serving prime minister, but one with a very different, more robust view of japan's position in the region and on the world stage than previous prime ministers. tell us about the changes he made and what legacy remains. >> yes, sure. he was the most significant leader in japan in more than a generation. served for eight years until he stepped down in 2020. he actually had an initial run as prime minister in 2006 that lasted only a year and wasn't very successful. he stepped down for health reasons. but he cam

you can tell by looking at where japan is. japan is a neighbor to russia, north korea, china. none of which has ever implemented anything akin to democracy, each one of which is nuclear part. and when it comes to china, it's ah small is growing as we discuss like this today. and so japan must strengthen its national security. but you can't do anything alone. bice, by by yourself, which is why she's a law bear. met a huge number of foreign leaders, developed close ties with people from obama, from and biden. mae johnson. you name it. so without him it, japan could not have come this far. and looking at it more locally as, as we have to ship, there will be had been canvassing for sunday's upper house elections. how do you think this might affect the outcome of sundays, folks? even to doubt this most tragic incident. the victory for the ruling coalition was almost a scenario that would prove the victorious not necessarily because the ruling coalition needs is doing a tremendous job. but because under the single member district, fast post the fast pass, the post this 1st pass the

in japan. small a prime minister. sions obeyed, dies after being shot during a political robbie was giving a speech ahead of this weekend's parliamentary elections. medic say he bled to death after sustaining injuries to his hot. we'll bring the latest from tokyo. also on the program brushes, vladimir putin warms that the warning ukraine's only just getting started as he's foreign minister. so gay laughter off a lot, she's out rushes. critics saying there's no point in talking about the peace. ah, i'm feel gale a welcome to the program. japan's former prime minister since her arbor has died after being shot at a political ro here had of the weekends parliamentary elections. police say a 41 year old man has been arrested. mister ave was the country's longest serving premier and was well known for his strong economic and defense policies. is killing how shocked the country at japan is a gun nation where fire arms are strictly regulated and political violence is rare . oh, the moment shin, so are

korea has had a lot of tension with japan. japan, as you know, is korea's former colonial over-lord, and there's still a lot of bad feeling and sensitivity. people on both sides are trying in good faith to improve that relationship. china is totally different. there was a very brutal history of japan's occupation and role in china during the second world war. but the chinese government has been absolutely manipulative in its relationship with japan, has fully distorted the history and certainly about 7.5 million chinese people died under japanese occupation in the second world war, and obviously that's horrific, but china continually harps on that without referencing that 47 million chinese people died under mao and the chinese communist party, which is in some ways responsible for those deaths, never mentions it. i think the relationships are on the mend and maybe this will create an opportunity in japan's relationship with china where china has been manipulative, ruthless, and japan has realized there is no possible partners

some of the ultranationalist feel that japan should be more independent. >> he wanted japan to have its own military, something banned under the constitution. did he get it? >> he did not. he was not able to revise the constitution. there were two main elements. one was that japan could never go to war. he did succeed being able to have a military that would participate in certain work with allies, sending the japanese to oversee combat missions. that was in the face of a lot of domestic pressure. >> something else that is controversial with regard to how other asian nations feel about it, and that is how he wanted japan's role in world war ii presented or represented. talk about that. dr. park: that is also part of this ultranationalist trend that he had. many japanese wanted to move past their wartime legacy. they felt like it was time for japan to be treated as a nation among equals and not this former aggressor. and he stepped up patriotic education in japanese schools and what that sometimes meant was changing the textbooks to downplay the effects of japanese aggression. and as you

his killing have shocked japan. a country where fire arms are strictly regulated and where political violence is rare . oh ah, the moment shin, so are they? we shot twice, a suspect man, handled to the ground. what appears to be a weapon lying on the road near by. people run to the age of japan's former prime minister as he lay seriously wounded. he was quickly transferred to a helicopter and flown to hospital. at this point, his condition was described as critical, but doctors were unable to save him. mister shins obey was taken into emergency care at 20 past 12. he was in a state of cardiac arrest. he was given intensive care, but unfortunately he passed away to day. but 3 minutes past 5. when he arrived, he had gunshot wounds on 2 parts of his body and was in a state of cardiac arrest, probably induced by damage to the hearts unto the altar. is the area in the city of nora, where this veteran politician had been giving an election campaign speech is now a crime scene, was the assassination has shocked japan. a co

or japan. self defense forces. that is something new, and it's not something that necessarily resulted from ave me. i mean, i think he was planning as he should govern repairs to revise. it's majors church, major defense strategy documents. later this year, i mean ave, was prepared to push for bigger changes in those documents, but he was not necessarily the one driving the public change. i think that was a more organic response to what happened. what's happened in ukraine to be his hairs. we appreciate your time and your insights. good. talking with you to be as hope we can talk with you again. thank you. thank you. ah, who will be the next british prime minister the races on to replace boards. johnston who announced his resignation. thursday, after 2 days, that's all dozens of government officials quit. johnson's conservative party is due next monday to announce a time table for selecting a new party leader and prime minister of the goal is to have a new leader in place by summers n. johnson says he will stay on

what is japan going to be like? because without shinzo abe as malcolm turnbull said, the region would not have come together with the quad security grouping which is really important these days. his vision from the first years of this century have really set the free world's path in asia-pacific region. so the question is does japan fall back into political chaos as it does look like now or does this create a reaction and japan coming together? i would sort of think it's the first and i'm very concerned about that. >> gordon chang, jonathan wackrow, thank you for being with us this morning. >> thank you. >>> all right. this just in, significant news out of the white house. we understand the president is about to make an announcement on abortion rights. stand by for news. >>> and the january 6th committee set to hear from former white house counsel pat cipollone today hoping to get insider details about what went on in the trump white house on january 6th. >>> and of course we have more ahead on the assassination of