Shinzo Abe’s assassination shows political violence is growing worldwide, experts say

The isolation and economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has driven more people online and into spaces where they have become radicalized, experts say.

The assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is another sign that political violence is growing around the world, experts say, as extremist attitudes become further normalized.

The isolation and economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has driven more people online and into spaces where they have become radicalized, those experts add. The growing threat will require attention and action from governments who must confront the issue of domestic terrorism and extremism, they say.

“I’m very worried,” said Ruth Marshall, a political scientist and religious studies professor at the University of Toronto.

“Those of us who study extremism and political violence — and it’s a small group — are growing very concerned that this is on the rise.”

Police in Japan say Tetsuya Yamagami, the 41-year-old man accused of murdering Abe during a campaign speech with a homemade gun on Friday, told investigators he had plotted to kill him because he believed rumours about the former leader’s connection to a certain organization that police did not identify.

According to the police account, Yamagami’s mother had been bankrupted by donations to the organization, which was later identified as a fringe religious group known as the Unification Church.

Tomihiro Tanaka, head of the church’s Japan branch, later confirmed the mother was a member but distanced the group from the shooting, which he called “perplexing” and caused him “deep outrage.”

The church — often described as a financially-motivated cult whose followers are referred to as “Moonies,” after its South Korean founder Sun Myung Moon — has hosted speeches by Abe and other conservative world leaders, including Donald Trump and members of his administration.