Abe Shooting Could Have Been Prevented: Police Report

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)--The deadly shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July could have been prevented, the National Police Agency said in a report Thursday.

There were problems with the way the Nara prefectural police handled the incident on the scene and with Abe's security plan, said the agency, which investigated possible security flaws regarding the shooting of Abe during a stump speech in the western city of Nara.

It is "highly likely that the attack could have been prevented if the police had taken appropriate measures," the report said.

As part of preventive measures, the agency will revise Japan's rules on guarding dignitaries and increase its involvement in related matters, including by checking prefectural police security plans for such people in advance.

The report confirmed that the main cause of the failure to prevent the shooting was a brief absence of security guards watching the space behind Abe where the 41-year-old shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, approached him before the shooting. Yamagami, sent to prosecutors on suspicion of murder, is detained for psychiatric evaluation.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]