TOKYO – A day after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a political rally, police in Japan were faced with sharp questions about the adequacy of its security, even as parliamentary candidates resumed their campaign on Saturday in a sign that despite the tragedy, political life went on.
White vans carrying large photos of politicians and their names blaring from loudspeakers drove through the streets. Candidates clashed with supporters and posed for selfies. And politicians, many from Mr Abe’s Liberal Democrat Party, made their final appeal to voters before an election Sunday, in the shadow of deep mourning.
Akiko Ikuina, an LDP candidate and former pop idol running for a seat in Japan’s upper house, stood on a truck in the glitzy fashion district of Ginza in central Tokyo. Abe’s vision for our country is coming true.” During a minute of silence, some of the hundreds of supporters in the crowd wept.
During Japanese campaign stops, it is common for politicians to mingle freely with voters, keeping almost no distance between themselves and the crowd.
But the ease with which a lone gunman could bring a homemade tape-wrapped weapon to Mr. Abe, once one of the world’s most powerful leaders, may cause some in Japan to reconsider that openness.
Nerves on edge as the current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, made his final campaign appearances in Yamanashi and Niigata prefectures on Saturday, police scanned the bodies of residents and snuck them over rooftops. At one point, a guard stood so close behind Mr. Kishida as he spurred on a crowd that the guard appeared to be glued to the Prime Minister’s back.
After Mr Abe’s assassination — in a country where gun deaths are a rarity, let alone the shooting of a major political figure — Japan began to absorb the shock.
Early on Saturday, Mr. Abe’s widow Akie Abe accompanied his body in a hearse to his home in Tokyo from the hospital in Nara where he died. Mr Abe’s parliamentary office said a vigil would be held on Monday, followed by a funeral on Tuesday at one of Tokyo’s largest Buddhist temples.
Police were still looking for answers and said little on Saturday. In the absence of much new information about the suspect in custody, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, circulated rumors on social media.
More about the murder of Shinzo Abe
The Nara Prefecture Police continued to question Mr. Yamagami. At a news conference on Saturday afternoon, police told reporters that he had taken a train one stop from his neighborhood to the site of the campaign rally where Mr Abe was shot. They also said they found multiple bullet holes in a vehicle used by the LDP candidate Mr Abe was campaigning for, but they went no further.
At a news conference on Saturday in Nara, Tomoaki Onizuka, chief of Nara Prefectural Police, acknowledged deficiencies in the protections given to Mr Abe. “There’s no denying that there were security issues,” Mr Onizuka said.
On Twitter, Toshio Tamogami, a former chief of staff of the Japanese Air Force, appeared to be asking the question the country was tinkering with after seeing countless videos on television and social media showing the gunman walking freely past security before pointing a large makeshift pistol at Mr Abe.
“How did the police, security forces and other security not notice the criminal approaching from behind with a gun?” mr. Tamogami wrote.
Neighbors of Mr Yamagami’s mother, Yoko, also from Nara, said she kept to herself in the quiet residential area, where elderly residents often stop to chat in the street. Kikuko Nakano, 73, who lives a few doors down from Ms. Yamagami, said that although she had lived in the community for many years, she had hardly ever spoken to Ms. Yamagami and had never seen Mr. Yamagami visit.
Hundreds of people in Nara lined up on Saturday to pay their respects to Mr Abe, at a makeshift memorial at the site near Yamato-Saidaiji train station where he was killed. They left flowers, photos and cards, packets of snacks and cans of beer and soda on tables under a white tent.
Police officers directed traffic as mourners marched from the sidewalk onto the street. They set up cardboard boxes to accommodate the overflowing bouquets. Even as the rain came pouring down in mid-afternoon, visitors of all ages lined up.
“If you’re asked who the face of Japan is, it’s Mr. Abe,” said Miharu Araki, 24, a former Nara resident who had come from Osaka, about 20 miles away, to visit the site, after spending the entire time glued to the television. day on Friday for news about Mr. abe.
In Tokyo, as political candidates wrapped up their campaigns, life moved on at a rapid pace. In Shibuya, the city’s popular shopping and entertainment district, fashion stores, cafes and restaurants filled up. A flag at Tokyo Dome flew at half-mast when the Yomiuri Giants played against the Yokohama DeNa Baystars, but there was no moment of silence before the game.
Outside the baseball stadium, couples tried to win stuffed animals in an arcade. A line wound out the door of a nearby supermarket. Makiko Kawasaki, 29, who planned to take her 3-year-old for a ride on a Ferris wheel, said Mr Abe’s murder hadn’t changed her plan to skip Sunday’s vote.
“I’m not really interested in politics,” said Ms. Kawasaki. “And tomorrow is my husband’s birthday.”
During a campaign rally in Shibuya for Taku Yamazoe, 37, a Communist Party member of the upper house of Parliament seeking reelection in Tokyo’s constituency, volunteers held up signs with slogans such as “Raise the minimum wage to 1,500 yen an hour” or “Legalize same-sex marriage.”
In a speech to supporters, Mr Yamazoe called on Mr Abe. “We do not tolerate freedom of expression being silenced,” Yamazoe said. “Violence is not democracy.”
Some supporters of Mr. Yamazoe said they feared the killing would prompt some people to express sympathy for the LDP, though at least the party had a strong preference for winning.
“I hope tomorrow’s votes won’t be affected by what happened,” said Natsumi Takahashi, 20, a college student who ate ice cream from a cup while listening to Mr. Yamazoe. “I’m a bit worried.”
She said she disagreed with some of Mr Abe’s policies on gender relations. “I don’t want people to forget what he was like as a politician when they cast their votes tomorrow,” Ms Takahashi said.
Motoko Rich and Hikari Hida reported from Tokyo. Daisuk Wakabayashi reported from Seoul. Hisako Ueno reported from Nara.