Shinzo Abe assassination: Hideo Kojima wrongly identified as assassin

Note: This incident involves a prominent figure in the gaming industry, hence its inclusion in this wiki. "#KojimaProductions strongly condemns the spread of fake news and rumours that convey false information. We do not tolerate such libel and will consider taking legal action in some cases."

- A spokesman defending Hideo Kojima in Kojima Productions's official Twitter account

On July 8, 2022, while speaking at a public political event outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan, former prime minister of Japan and serving member of the House of Representatives Shinzo Abe was shot by crazed religious fanatic and former Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force officer Tetsuya Yamagami with a homemade shotgun in the back before dying in hospital 5.5 hours later.

However, in the wake of the assassination, 4chan and Twitter users made insensitive jokes that misidentified video game developer Hideo Kojima as the assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, causing news outlets to accuse the former as the assassin instead.

Assassination
On July 8, 2022, while Abe was delivering his speech outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station, the alleged perpetrator, Tetsuya Yamagami, was able to approach within several metres despite the presence of security. At around 11:30 a.m., Yamagami shot Abe in the back twice with a homemade sawed-off double-barrelled shotgun before being detained by security without resistance.

After the shooting, Abe was initially conscious and communicative before being airlifted to the Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara with no reported vital signs caused by cardiopulmonary arrest. Despite the doctors' best efforts and numerous blood transfusions, he died 5.5 hours later at 5:03 p.m. the same day at age 67 due to blood loss.

Misrepresentation of Hideo Kojima as the assassin
On the same day that news of the assassination broke out, several media outlets misidentified video game developer Hideo Kojima as Yamagami  thanks to jokes on online message board 4chan and Twitter that were taken as fact and subsequently perpetrated by far-right French politician Damien Rieu, Greek news outlet ANT1 and Iranian website Mashregh News. ANT1 additionally reported that the suspect was "was passionate about Che Guevara," referring to the Cuban guerrilla leader.

Why This Moment Sucks

 * 1) This is nothing more than accusing an innocent man of a crime. It is also incredibly disrespectful to the late former prime-minister, his family and by extension, the Japanese people.
 * 2) It also shows how effective could fake news become and why one should not make insensitive jokes, especially at the wrong time.
 * 3) It severely damaged ANT1's reputation deeply and further shows the journalism's incompetence.

Aftermath
On the same day that Kojima was wrongly identified as the assassin, several Kojima Productions fans were quick to criticize the news outlets for not doing research on who the true killer is and jumping to conclusions. ANT1's broadcast was initially uploaded to their YouTube account and was later taken down by the broadcaster and Rieu took down the original tweet and issue an apology for his comments, both due to massive backlash from KJP fans and Abe supporters. Following the incident, Kojima and Kojima Productions condemned the false reports and threatened legal action against those perpetrating the rumour.

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