Regarding the site where former Prime Minister Abe was shot, Nara City decided to maintain it as a "roadway" and not create a memorial monument, as planned from before the incident.

The site where former Prime Minister Abe was shot in July this year is a corner of the area where Nara City was working to develop plazas and roads this year.



After the incident, Nara City decided to make three plans: a green zone, a "sidewalk" with a memorial nearby, and a "roadway" without a memorial, as previously planned. I've been considering two options.



As a result, it was decided not to build a cenotaph to express condolences, while maintaining it as a "roadway" as planned and setting up flowerbeds around it.



During the study, 42 people, including experts and local residents, were asked for their opinions, and many of them said, ``If you set up a monument, you will be reminded of the incident every time you pass by, so it is better not to set it up.''



Also, it was decided not to build a structure from the viewpoint of ensuring the safety of passersby.

Mayor Nakagawa of Nara City said, "It's a place that many citizens use, and when I thought about the feelings of people who pass by every day, I thought it was necessary to consider the feelings of those who wanted to turn away from the incident. It is active as a place of relaxation. I want to get over the incident and overcome the incident."

Mayor Nakagawa “Difficult decision”

The site in Nara City where former Prime Minister Abe was shot is about 50 meters away from the north exit of Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji Station, one of the main stations in Nara Prefecture.



The site of the incident was part of an area where Nara City had been working to improve the plaza and roads at a cost of about 6.2 billion yen since 2012, and the construction was supposed to be completed by the end of this fiscal year.



In the midst of this, on July 8th, an incident occurred.

Nara Mayor Nakagawa, who was close to former Prime Minister Abe at the time of the incident, said the following about the handling of the scene at a press conference held on July 14 after the incident.



“I think there is a difference of opinion as to whether it is good or not to redevelop the place where the incident occurred as if it had never existed. I think it would be better to have it.”



However, the Nara City Hall received various opinions.



According to the city, as of the 29th of last month, there were 30 positive opinions about whether to install statues, monuments, etc. that indicate that there was an incident, while there were 30 negative opinions. It means that there were 64 cases.



On September 28, Mayor Nakagawa expressed the difficulty of making the following decision, while public opinion was divided over the implementation of a "national funeral".



“It is still unclear how this incident will affect society and how it will be positioned historically. I'm honestly worried about this issue myself."