Shinzo Abe's body arrives in Tokyo as country mourns ex-PM's death
Tokyo(AP): The body of Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was returned to Tokyo on Saturday after he was fatally shot during a campaign speech in western Japan a day earlier.
Abe was attacked in the city of Nara and airlifted to a local hospital but died of blood loss despite emergency treatment including massive blood transfusions.
Police arrested the attacker, a former member of Japan's navy, at the scene on suspicion of murder. Police confiscated the homemade gun he used, and several others were later found at his apartment.
A black hearse carrying Abe's body and accompanied by his wife, Akie, arrived at his home in Tokyo's upscale residential area of Shibuya, where many mourners waited and lowered their heads as the vehicle passed.
Abe's assassination ahead of Sunday's parliamentary election shocked the nation as a threat to democracy and raised questions over whether security for the former prime minister was adequate.
Even though he was out of office, Abe was still highly influential in the governing Liberal Democratic Party and headed its largest faction, but his ultra-nationalist views made him a divisive figure to many.
When he resigned as prime minister, Abe blamed a recurrence of the ulcerative colitis he'd had since he was a teenager.
He said then it was difficult to leave many of his goals unfinished, especially his failure to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia, and a revision of Japan's war-renouncing constitution.
That ultra-nationalism riled the Koreas and China, and his push to create what he saw as a more normal defense posture angered many Japanese.
Abe failed to achieve his cherished goal of formally rewriting the U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution because of poor public support.
Loyalists said his legacy was a stronger U.S.-Japan relationship that was meant to bolster Japan's defense capability. But Abe made enemies by forcing his defense goals and other contentious issues through parliament, despite strong public opposition.
Abe was groomed to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.
His political rhetoric often focused on making Japan a normal and beautiful nation with a stronger military and bigger role in international affairs.
Japan is particularly known for its strict gun laws. With a population of 125 million, it had only 10 gun-related criminal cases last year, resulting in one death and four injuries, according to police.
Eight of those cases were gang-related. Tokyo had no gun incidents, injuries or deaths in the same year, although 61 guns were seized.
Abe was proud of his work to strengthen Japan's security alliance with the U.S. and shepherding the first visit by a serving U.S. president, Barack Obama, to the atom-bombed city of Hiroshima.
He also helped Tokyo gain the right to host the 2020 Olympics by pledging that a disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant was under control when it was not.
He became Japan's youngest prime minister in 2006, at age 52, but his overly nationalistic first stint abruptly ended a year later, also because of his health.
The end of Abe's scandal-laden first stint as prime minister was the beginning of six years of annual leadership change, remembered as an era of revolving door politics that lacked stability.
When he returned to office in 2012, Abe vowed to revitalise the nation and get its economy out of its deflationary doldrums with his Abenomics formula, which combines fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural reforms.
He won six national elections and built a rock-solid grip on power, bolstering Japan's defense role and capability and its security alliance with the U.S.
He also stepped up patriotic education at schools and raised Japan's international profile. (AP)
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Bengaluru: Police launch citywide drive to verify visas, credentials of foreign nationals
Bengaluru (PTI): In a coordinated drive to verify the visa status, FRRO details, and credentials of foreign nationals residing in the city, police said on Thursday that inspections are being conducted across all areas of the city.
All Deputy Commissioners of Police and police personnel are actively involved in checking the visa status, Foreigners Regional Registration Office details, and other relevant documents of foreign residents, officials said.
To avoid inconvenience to the public, the inspections are being carried out systematically through live monitoring and field verification methods, they added.
“House owners are required to provide details of foreign nationals residing in their premises, including visa and FRRO information, to the jurisdictional police station,” a statement from the office of Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said.
Foreign nationals found overstaying their visa or residing without proper documentation are being identified, and legal action is being initiated against them, the statement added. Deportation procedures will also be undertaken if required.
Verification is also being conducted on foreign nationals involved in any illegal activities, police said.
“This operation is being carried out to maintain law and order in the city, and public cooperation is essential,” the statement said. Police urged citizens and house owners to report any suspicious foreign nationals to the nearest police station. The operation will continue further, it added.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday described infiltrators as a threat to national security, alleging that they consume ration and benefits meant for citizens.
Shah made the remark in Araria district of Bihar, where he inaugurated projects worth Rs 175 crore for the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and dedicated several new border outposts to the nation.
