Three Years Ago Today, the World Lost a Great Man to an Assassin’s Bullet

And I will not back down from the ‘great’ – he was a man for our time and a statesman for all time.

Three years ago today, Japan’s Shinzo Abe was shot and fatally wounded during a campaign appearance for another candidate on a street corner in Nara, Japan.

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister who retired from the office almost two years ago after a bout with health problems, was shot dead Friday at a train station while making a campaign speech for a parliamentary candidate.

Abe was shot from behind just minutes after beginning the speech at the Kintetsu Railway in Nara in western Japan, located about 235 miles southwest of Tokyo.

The former prime minister was rushed to a hospital, but died hours later. His death was confirmed by Hidetada Fukushima, the professor in charge of emergency medicine at Nara Medical University Hospital.

Abe arrived at the hospital with no vital signs and was pronounced dead just after 5 p.m. after doctors administered more than 100 units of blood in transfusions but were unable to resuscitate him, Fukushima said.

On this day, 3 years ago, Shinzo Abe was assassinated. pic.twitter.com/33YSCNNuOI

— 由仁アリン Arin Yuni (@Arin_Yumi) July 7, 2025

The news was devastating and not just to the Japanese.

Today is the anniversary of the passing of Shinzo Abe, the first politician I ever felt I could “believe in with all my heart and soul.”

Even now, three years after his passing, I constantly face politics by imagining, “What would Abe do?”

Today, I want to talk about Shinzo… pic.twitter.com/IDHAqGlATv

— 燃えたいゴミ！！ (@gamu0514) July 7, 2025

Abe had many fierce and loyal friends and admirers here in the US, too, not the least of which was our president.

Abe’s cruel death affects Trump emotionally to this day.

Asking Donald Trump to acknowledge another Prime Minister of Japan other than his best friend Shinzo Abe is a fool’s errand. It’s like if your father died in a heroic way, and your mom’s new boyfriend offers permission to call him “Dad”. NOT HAPPENING https://t.co/p0Mcqempwh pic.twitter.com/BFyBiX2y7d

— Michael A. 🐺 (@WolffintheWild) July 6, 2025

Between Trump and Abe, the two leaders gave us some memorable moments enjoying each other’s company.

Remember the fish food dump heard ’round the world?

President Trump’s visit to Japan in 2017 sparked a viral sensation when a video of him dumping fish food into a koi pond with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe went viral.

CNN, the most distrusted name in news, reported Trump as being impolite and ignoring Japanese customs. pic.twitter.com/U02FFfuQF8

— Blue Owl (@BlueOwlHoots) May 23, 2024

…CNN, the most distrusted  name in news, reported Trump as being impolite and ignoring Japanese customs.

When it aired, CNN had edited out the part in the tape where Abe dumped his box first in order to make Trump look oafish.

What a surprise.

Then there’s my personal favorite, with Abe strong as Trump’s wingman staring down the crotchety termagent of Europe.

GAWD, HOW I WILL ALWAYS LOVE THIS PICTURE

Look at the disgust on the face of those two men (Bolton looks like he’s worried he’s going to get bitten.). 

It is a thing of pure beauty.

And power.

The Biden White House stepped in it when this terrible event happened, as one would expect them to. Whoever was running the official statement pen that day decided to be clever and turn Abe’s name around to what they thought was a Japanese form. They also made sure it was an anti-gun propaganda statement. 

Disgusting, inappropriate drivel.

…WE KNOW THAT VIOLENT ATTACKS ARE NEVER ACCEPTABLE AND THAT GUN VIOLENCE ALWAYS LEAVES A DEEP SCAR ON THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE AFFECTED BY IT…

Compare to a genuinely personal version. pic.twitter.com/8mDOmoljja

— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 8, 2022

Trump was simply outraged and heartbroken for the world to see.

NPR reminded us why they need to be defunded for the zillionth time, doing their taxpayer-funded version of an ‘austere religious scholar’ column.

For giggles, here’s how they described Castro.

Cuba’s Fidel Castro, a ‘Complex Figure,’ Dies at Age 90

Yeah, they went on a deletion tear after they caught hell for these, but the damage was done and, as you can see, the innerwebs and their bile are forever.

There is no denying that Abe’s legacy is complex, having encompassed both scandals and triumphs alike. But he was a staunch friend of the United States and laser-focused on protecting his country from the Chinese aggression he saw building long before many others did. That fight to build Japan’s defenses and alliances within the Asian orbit alone earned him the ‘ultra-nationalist’ tag.

When you think of the European milque-toasts trying to stare Trump and Abe down across that table, and where Europe is right now, you realize how lucky we were then and are now.

We came so close to losing both of them.

So here’s to you, Prime Minister Abe.

We remember good friends.