minbo
Apr 17th, 2007, 03:39 PM
With the VT news going on, I didn't want this to be lost in the shuffle.... There has been some speculation that his murder may be related to his political views, which were anti-nuclear and generally in opposition to the extreme right wing in Japan (who aparently have some sort of nebulous ties to the Yamaguchi-gumi)
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=1590
t has just been reported that Iccho Itoh, mayor of Nagasaki, has been gunned down near his campaign office in front of Nagasaki Station. The mayor was shot in the back quite openly by an assailant who was immediately apprehended. TV News was mentioning a possible connection to the Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza gang. Itoh’s status is not immediately known at the time of this posting.
Update 1: Mainichi has just run a newsflash….
NAGASAKI — Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito was shot in front of JR Nagasaki Station on Tuesday evening, according to news reports.
Ito was taken to a local hospital, however details of his condition have not yet been made available. He did not respond to questions asked by paramedics.
The man who shot Ito was subdued on the spot before police apprehended him.
Ito is running for the mayoral election slated for April 22 to seek his 4th term. (Mainichi)
More from the AP:
Mayor Iccho Ito was shot on a street near his office, just in front of Nagasaki train station, according to local police official Isao Teramoto.
A man with links to organized crime was quickly detained, according to Kyodo News agency. NHK footage from Nagasaki showed several officers escorting a man into a police car, and an ambulance leaving the scene.
It was the second shooting in recent years of a mayor of Nagasaki, which was destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945 and whose leaders have actively campaigned against militarism.
In 1990, former Nagasaki mayor Hitoshi Motoshima was shot and seriously wounded in 1990 after saying Japan’s emperor, beloved by rightists, bore some responsibility for World War II.
NHK news has just reported that the shooter’s is a 59-year-old member of the Yamaguchi-gumi named Shiro Testuya.
Update 2: Bloomberg now has more information…
Ito’s heart stopped beating later in hospital NHK Television reported, citing an unidentified government official.
The city office doesn’t know what Itoh’s condition is and is seeking more information, Yuko Kimoto, a spokeswoman, said by telephone today. Itoh, 61, was sent to Nagasaki University Hospital immediately after the shooting, she said.
Itoh was campaigning in his bid for re-election for a fourth term as mayor when the gunman shot him. The election will be held on April 22.
Kyodo News said the mayor is unconscious and in a serious condition. Local police arrested a suspect who belongs to a Yamaguchi-Gumi crime syndicate, Kyodo said.
More information to come as this story develops……
For info on the Yamaguchi-gumi - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=1590
t has just been reported that Iccho Itoh, mayor of Nagasaki, has been gunned down near his campaign office in front of Nagasaki Station. The mayor was shot in the back quite openly by an assailant who was immediately apprehended. TV News was mentioning a possible connection to the Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza gang. Itoh’s status is not immediately known at the time of this posting.
Update 1: Mainichi has just run a newsflash….
NAGASAKI — Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito was shot in front of JR Nagasaki Station on Tuesday evening, according to news reports.
Ito was taken to a local hospital, however details of his condition have not yet been made available. He did not respond to questions asked by paramedics.
The man who shot Ito was subdued on the spot before police apprehended him.
Ito is running for the mayoral election slated for April 22 to seek his 4th term. (Mainichi)
More from the AP:
Mayor Iccho Ito was shot on a street near his office, just in front of Nagasaki train station, according to local police official Isao Teramoto.
A man with links to organized crime was quickly detained, according to Kyodo News agency. NHK footage from Nagasaki showed several officers escorting a man into a police car, and an ambulance leaving the scene.
It was the second shooting in recent years of a mayor of Nagasaki, which was destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945 and whose leaders have actively campaigned against militarism.
In 1990, former Nagasaki mayor Hitoshi Motoshima was shot and seriously wounded in 1990 after saying Japan’s emperor, beloved by rightists, bore some responsibility for World War II.
NHK news has just reported that the shooter’s is a 59-year-old member of the Yamaguchi-gumi named Shiro Testuya.
Update 2: Bloomberg now has more information…
Ito’s heart stopped beating later in hospital NHK Television reported, citing an unidentified government official.
The city office doesn’t know what Itoh’s condition is and is seeking more information, Yuko Kimoto, a spokeswoman, said by telephone today. Itoh, 61, was sent to Nagasaki University Hospital immediately after the shooting, she said.
Itoh was campaigning in his bid for re-election for a fourth term as mayor when the gunman shot him. The election will be held on April 22.
Kyodo News said the mayor is unconscious and in a serious condition. Local police arrested a suspect who belongs to a Yamaguchi-Gumi crime syndicate, Kyodo said.
More information to come as this story develops……
For info on the Yamaguchi-gumi - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi