Abe Wasn't Killed by Terrorism, but due to Social Disparities... テロじゃない｡｡｡格差でしょ｡｡｡

The murder of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is not terrorism. It happened because of increasing social inequalities.　安倍元総理襲撃はテロではありません。格差が原因ではないでしょうか。英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Last week, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead. The assailant was arrested and it's been reported by the Japanese media that he targeted Abe because he believed that Abe had close ties with a certain organization (i.e., Unification Church)*.
* Strangely (but understandably in Japan because the people often do sontaku**), no main broadcasters in Japan have ever mentioned the name of the organization although according to social media, it's obviously the Unification Church. 

** "Sontaku" means acting upon the implicit desires of others, especially those with power, which often makes it impossible for groups, parties and organizations in Japan to have transparency.

Japanese media and politicians have been treating the murder as terrorism, but they're wrong based on the definition of "terrorism" and the assailant's motive for targeting Abe. The term "terrorism" means "violent action for political purposes" according to Cambridge Dictionary. The assailant has alleged that he had grudges against Abe because his mother had gone bankrupt because of the Unification Church and that Abe had deep ties with the church. Obviously, he attacked Abe for personal reasons not for political purposes. 

So, Japanese media and politicians should stop treating him as a martyr for democracy or freedom of speech because that's a lie. What actually happened is that a man left behind in society shot another man, whom he believed was responsible for his difficulties, and the victim happened to be Abe. The real issues that need to be addressed are widening social and economic disparities and, as suggested by the voter turnout of the July 10 upper house election (i.e., 52%), increasing apathy among the Japanese.

安倍元総理襲撃がテロと報道されていますが、違いますよね。だってテロの定義は Cambridge Dictionary によると「violent action for political purposes（政治目的のための暴力行為）」。でも山上容疑者は「統一教会への寄付で母親が破産したことで統一教会を恨み、そしてそこと深いつながりのあった安倍氏を恨んでいた」から襲撃したんでしょ。これは政治目的ではなく「私怨」です。

マスコミも政治家も、安倍氏が民主主義のために殉死したかのような論調ですがやめてほしいです。だって本当の問題が見えなくなってしまいます。本当の問題は「格差」と「無関心」ではないでしょうか。今回の参院選、投票率52％でした。

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