Japan’s National Police Agency chief announced his resignation on Thursday after assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s security plan was identified as “flawed”.
“There were shortcomings in the security plans and the risk assessments on which they were based, and direction from the field commander was insufficient,” Itaru Nakamura told reporters.
“The root of this problem lies in the limitations of the current system, which has been in place for years, in which local police bear sole responsibility for providing security,” he stated.
Nakamura said he would take responsibility for the mistake and resign as police chief.
“We have decided to shake up our personnel and start afresh with our security duties, and that’s why I tendered my resignation to the National Public Safety Commission today,” he said.
Abe was shot dead on July 8 while campaigning in the Nara region.
The suspect who murdered him was arrested at the scene and allegedly targeted Abe because he thought he had ties to the Unification Church.
Abe, Japan’s most famous politician and longest-serving prime minister, has been relatively lenient in his outspoken speeches on the streets of the western region.
Tetsuya Yamagami, suspected of killing Abe, is reportedly undergoing a psychiatric evaluation to determine his mental state at the time of the assassination.
Local police in the area have already admitted to the former leader’s “undeniable” security breaches.
