Japan's Trend of Rare Violence Continues
In Other Developments, North Korean Kidnapper is Dead
Mark Christian Soo
November 02, 2023
Analysis/Commentary
A North Korean abduction suspect is dead. Shootout at a Post Office in Tokyo. Developments and reports of rare violence from the placid Asia Pacific island nation….
Japan has been the scene of a growing number of strange social hostile incidents, strange for their rarity and sudden devastating impact on communities. The nation stands out in the region for a low statistical rate of community violence. However, there has been a rise in alarming incidents in recent years. On October 31, a Japanese gunman was apprehended by police in Tokyo after an “eight hour standoff” with officers at a post office in Tokyo, Al Jazeera reported.
Overt Operator Investigated Rise in Social Violence
Over recent weeks, Overt Operator sat out on an endeavor to analyze and understand the rising cases of political violence within the primarily placid landscape of Japan. See that story below:
In Developments Since, Japan Makes Moves To Ban Moonies
Developments since Overt Operator published its investigation on Japan’s uncharacteristic violence saw Japan has made motions to ban the Unification Church, known as the Moonies cult after its founder. On October 13, NPR News reported that Japan had asked the court to revoke the church’s legal status, as fears over the unstable presence of the church have lingered in Japanese society.
Despite the fact that the assassination of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of the most significant acts of social violence in Japan’s recent history, had been facilitated due to his attachment to a South Korea originating religious organization, no hate crimes against South Koreans have been detected, The Korea Times wrote in the aftermath of the assassination. Japan does not appear to be seeing growing rates of social violence, but rather, of political demonstrations that have turned violent, our analysis finds.
Foreign Abduction Case Closed
Tensions between Japan and the two Koreas have been high for decades, one case highlights.
On October 24, 2023, Tokyo was informed that a Japanese abduction suspect named Kim Kil Uk passed away several years ago in South Korea in his 90s. He was wanted by the National Police Agency (NPA) for the abduction of Tadaaki Hara in Miyazaki City in 1980. South Korean officials have informed their Japanese counterparts of the matter.
Kim was among 11 suspects with arrest warrants from the NPA for their role in kidnapping Japanese nationals in Japan and overseas. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Security Bureau (TMPD PSB) issued an arrest warrant in 2006 on suspicion of being involved in the kidnapping incidents.
In 1985, Kim was arrested by South Korean police for espionage, where he admitted to being involved in Hara’s abduction. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison from 1986. Kim stayed in South Korea permanently after his release in 2000.
Tokyo Acknowledges Japan Abduction Rates
As of 2023, Tokyo recognizes the abduction of 17 Japanese nationals, but has unofficially recognized 875 missing person cases that may or may not have North Korean involvement. His death raises the issue that the suspects, the abductees and their immediate families are getting old and there may not be enough time to uncover what happened to the other unaccounted abductees.