Group of Chinese nationalists celebrate assassination of Japan's former prime minister; Chinese mouthpiece justifies celebration

BEIJING: After former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot by an assailant, Chinese nationalists on Friday started posting celebratory messages on social media hailing the "hero" assailant and sending "death wishes" for Abe.

Abe, 67, was shot at while he was campaigning in the west Japanese city of Nara, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in his live address to the country.

Badiucao, a Chinese political cartoonist, artist and rights activist based in Australia shared a number of screenshots of various Chinese social media accounts, which apparently celebrated the attack on the former Japanese Prime Minister.

"Chinese nationalists on Weibo have begun to celebrate that Japan's ex-PM Abe is shot during campaign today. they call the attacker "hero" and send death wishes to Abe," Badiucao said on his official Twitter handle.

2. from WeChat
it says“ i hope it is the current Japanese PM （got shot）… and Korean one too” pic.twitter.com/DMpJlDdIa0

— 巴丢草 Badiucao (@badiucao) July 8, 2022

Meanwhile, the Chinese Global Times, a media that provides pro-Chinese government news, came in defense of the celebrations in China. 'Abe had been Japan's prime minister for a long time, but there are many people who are dissatisfied with his rule,' the official Twitter handle of Global Times said.

Shinzo Abe, who was in critical condition after being shot during an election campaign, died on Friday. He was shot twice during a campaign speech at Nara in Western Japan and was soon airlifted to a hospital. According to the police, Abe was shot twice from behind with a shotgun. The police have arrested the assailant, 41-year-old Yamagami Tetsuya, in connection with the attack.