July 7, 2023

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo, responding to a request from the media at a press conference on July 6, made comments at the first anniversary of the death of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Shii's comments are as follows:

On July 8 last year, when Abe passed away after being shot, I strongly denounced violent suppression on speech. At that time, I expressed my sincere condolences over the death of Abe, saying, "We have always held different political positions, but we were born in the same year and our first electoral win was also in the same year. As a person of the same age, I feel terribly sad to learn of his passing."

After that, many things happened such as the holding of a "state-funded funeral" for Abe which our party had to strongly criticize. However, the feelings that I expressed a year ago have not changed at all. On the first anniversary of his death, I'd like again to express deep sorrow over the murder of Abe and declare my resolve to be committed to building a society which does not tolerate violent acts against free speech.

Past related articles:
> JCP is opposed to 'state funeral' of ex-PM Abe [July 16, 2022]
> Shii comments on ex-PM Abe’s murder, expressing his condemnation of violence against democracy [July 9, 2022]