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20/ As @NathanielMSmith has noted, if the suspect was a member of the Sanctuary Church, his possession of a gun makes more sense. According to this 2018 Vice News report, its members "believe they need guns to build God's Kingdom on Earth." youtube.com/watch?v=ArfGyo…
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16/ An article from Shūkan Bunshun dropped more details: the suspect's mother was a member of a religious group, but he left it to join a sect that was in conflict with the original group. No names, but it sounds like it could be the Sanctuary Church. twitter.com/NathanielMSmit…
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15/ On January 6, 2021 I filmed a "Stop the Steal" march in Tokyo. Organizers and participants in such marches were associated with several new religious organizations - including Falun Gong, Happy Science, and the Sanctuary Church. twitter.com/mrjeffu/status…
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9/ The vague wording being used by police/media is probably meant to avoid discrimination against that group. However, this will also fuel conspiratorial beliefs that the group in question has power over the Japanese government and media, and is covering-up the truth.
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8/ The Abe assassination is a shocking event for Japan - the most famous politician in the country has been killed. Regardless of what the assassin says or what the media reports, such an event will be a major topic for conspiracy theorists (think JFK or 911).
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7/ Japanese police/media are facing a very unpleasant situation. If they report the details of what the shooter is saying, it could increase hate towards a specific group, towards all new religious movements, and/or towards foreigners. twitter.com/mclaughlin_lev…
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5/ As this photo from a magazine article shows, Abe had ties to a sizable list of religious organizations. Like many democracies around the world, Japan is a country in which conservative religious groups support conservative politicians. twitter.com/B4Btv/status/1…
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3/ The Unification Church has members in many countries, including Japan, and has supported conservative political causes. It is no secret that Abe Shinzo, Donald Trump, and other politicians have been friendly towards the church. (images from a 2021 Unification Church event)
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2/ Many social media users are filling in the blanks and guessing: one of the trending terms on Twitter in Japan is "Unification Church" - the name of a religious organization founded in Korea that had its Nara branch at the station where Abe was shot.
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More reports about the assassin's motivations, with more vague wording about a "certain group" (特定の団体) that he hated and associated with Abe. This is even more vague than earlier reports that suggested it was a religious group. 1/ twitter.com/ura5ch3wo/stat…
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The alleged shooter's name has been released: Yamagami Tetsuya (山上徹也). From witness reports of smoke and the weird appearance of his firearm, it looks like some kind of homemade weapon.
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More photos of the alleged shooter. One shows what looks like a gun in his hands, but the image quality is quite poor.
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The Asahi Shimbun is running a photo that shows Abe soon after the shooting. Blood is visible on his shirt. asahi.com/articles/photo…
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NHK is now reporting that Abe is in a state of "cardiac arrest" (心肺停止). This is usually how the Japanese press reports a person's death. After doctors at a hospital declare a person to be dead, the press reports will change to state that the person in question died.
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NHK is reporting that Abe Shinzo was apparently shot in the chest while delivering a campaign speech in Nara. A reporter is saying they heard 2 gunshot sounds and saw him fall over, bleeding from his chest. He has been taken away in an ambulance.
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University of Chicago Press is going to publish a new Ramseyer book in November. From the official description it sounds like he will be blaming Korean, Okinawan, and Burakumin rights activists for the discrimination that exists against those groups in Japanese society.
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Interesting Posters of the 2022 Japan Upper House Election- a thread - Over the course of the next couple weeks, I will share what I find to be the most unique, cool, and/or strange candidate posters. First up: the "Nuclear Fusion Party" guy running in Tokyo!
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A few years ago a Japanese idol group apologized for Nazi-inspired costumes. This Osaka host club appears to be going full-out Nazi. It will be interesting to see how the owners react to the international shock and anger that will be coming in the next few days. twitter.com/MikiDezaki/sta…
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I have seen a lot of accounts spreading this fake news story. These beds were 1) designed before COVID-19 with recyclability in mind and 2) can stand up to 200kg (440lbs) of weight. mainichi.jp/english/articl… twitter.com/aravosis/statu…
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This is absolutely insane: a wild bear is on the loose in Sapporo, and there's actually footage of it forcing its way into a Japan Self-Defense Force's military base. youtube.com/watch?v=rTHEaj…
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My book has been released! Japan’s Nationalist Right in the Internet Age: Online Media and Grassroots Conservative Activism -routledge.com/Japans-Nationa… Also on Amazon: amazon.com/gp/product/B08… #Japan #japanpolitics @routledgebooks
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This tweet has blown up overnight, with a lot of really bad takes in response to it. Just to clarify: several hundred people marching in Tokyo does not mean that this is a mainstream view in Japan. Also, this march is not endorsed by Japan's conservative government. twitter.com/mrjeffu/status…
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The fourth group of Japanese #StopTheSteaI protesters. I overheard one guy claiming that police divided the march into groups of 500 people, but I was too busy filming to count.
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Here is a third clip. Police have divided the march into sections so that traffic can pass. Each group has a loudspeaker and many flags and banners. #January6th #tokyo #Japan
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A second clip of more #StopTheSteaI protesters in this march. They are chanting anti CCP and anti media slogans in Japanese and English.
PhD. Special Lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies. Japan's Politics/Nationalist Activism/History Disputes/Pop Culture. RT/Likes ≠ endorsements