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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 001714 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV JA
SUBJECT: NAGASAKI MAYOR'S MURDER:  SHARP REACTIONS; MEDIA 
SPECULATES ON POLITICAL MOTIVES 
 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary.  Japan's leaders and media characterized 
the April 17 assassination of three-term Nagasaki Mayor Itcho 
Ito in the midst of his reelection campaign as a threat to 
Japan's political system.  Most reports highlighted PM Abe's 
description of the killing as a "challenge to democracy." 
Several newspapers drew parallels to previous attacks on 
politicians, many involving political motives.  Kyodo News 
Service was careful to point out that the jury is still out 
on the reasons for this particular attack.  The killer, 
Tetsuya Shiroo, is a ranking member of a small criminal gang 
with ties to Japan's largest organized crime syndicate.  He 
is reported to have filed numerous complaints with the city 
after his vehicle was damaged at a municipal construction 
site in 2003.  Press reports also speculate that Shiroo's 
gang may have been involved in trying to gain bids on city 
construction projects.  According to Japan's election laws, 
any potential replacement candidate for Mayor Ito must file 
by 5:00 p.m. on April 19 in order to stand for election on 
April 22.  Otherwise, the mayoral race will become a contest 
between two unknown independents and a former Communist Party 
city assembly member.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Japanese media gave wide coverage on April 18 to 
the shooting of Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito a day earlier, 
focusing on the organized crime affiliation of his killer and 
the threat to the Japanese political system that the shooting 
represents.  Mayor Ito, 61, was shot twice in the back at 
close range on the evening of April 17, in what is being 
called an "ambush" shooting at the entrance of his reelection 
campaign office, beside Nagasaki's central train station.  He 
died in the early hours of April 18.  The National Police 
Agency announced shortly thereafter that they would tighten 
security for all candidates in the April 22 unified local 
elections. 
 
¶3. (SBU) An Asahi report, noting that the killing took place 
less than one week before the April 22 elections, called the 
shooting a "threat to Japanese politics," and compared it to 
the stabbing of Japan Socialist Party Chairman Asanuma in the 
middle of a campaign speech in 1960.  The Yomiuri Shimbun 
compared the shooting to attacks by right-wing extremists on 
ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politicians Shin 
Kanemaru and Koichi Kato.  The media are also drawing 
parallels with the 1990 shooting of Nagasaki Mayor Motoshima, 
noting that the attack on Motoshima was clearly the result of 
political motives, namely, as a reaction to Motoshima's 
statements assigning war guilt to Emperor Hirohito. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The newspapers were full of comments from 
politicians of all political parties decrying the attack as 
an attack on the political system.  Prime Minister Abe called 
the attack a "challenge to democracy."  LDP Secretary General 
Hidenao Nakagawa promised to "resolutely defend freedom of 
political thought."  Former LDP Secretary General Koichi 
Kato, whose home was burned down by a member of a right-wing 
nationalist organization in August 2006, was quoted at length 
in several different newspapers warning against allowing 
these sorts of attacks to keep politicians from voicing their 
opinions.  Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma elevated the rhetoric 
a step further, calling the attack a "terrorist incident." 
Kyuma, who represents Nagasaki in the Lower House, is 
reported to have been close to Mayor Ito. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Kyodo News Service took a more neutral tone, saying 
it is too early to know whether or not there were political 
motives behind the shooting.  The killer, Tetsuya Shiroo, 59, 
is described as a leading member of the Suishin-kai organized 
crime family, a small group affiliated with Yamaguchi-gumi, 
Japan's largest organized crime syndicate.  In statements to 
the police, Shiroo is said to have confessed to shooting 
Mayor Ito over a dispute with the city concerning bids on 
public works projects.  Kyodo cites statements from 
acquaintances of Shiroo claiming that he had also filed 
complaints with the city in 2003 over damage sustained to his 
vehicle at a municipal construction site.  The Kyodo report 
said Shiroo had visited the city office more than 30 times 
since 2003 demanding compensation. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001714  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) There is much speculation in the press on the LDP's 
next steps for the Nagasaki mayoral race on April 22. 
According to Japan's elections law, a candidate who dies 
during the campaign period can be replaced up to three days 
prior to the election, providing there are more than two 
candidates.  In the Nagasaki mayoral race, a Japan Communist 
Party (JCP) candidate and two independents are already 
registered, so any replacement candidate for Ito must file by 
5:00 p.m. on April 19.  Ito, who was known as a strong 
antinuclear advocate and opponent of U.S. Navy ship visits, 
was seeking his fourth term.  He was running without party 
affiliation.  Defense Minister Kyuma, quoted in an Asahi 
article, predicted that the JCP candidate, Seiichi Yamamoto, 
71, a former city assemblyman, is certain to beat the two 
independent candidates, a university lecturer and 
stay-at-home mother. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  According to reporting from Consulate Fukuoka, the 
shooting has created political chaos in Nagasaki.  A local 
LDP chapter official told the Consulate that Defense Minister 
Kyuma would travel to Nagasaki on April 18 to meet with 
senior local leaders to discuss possible candidates.  The LDP 
will need to work with the opposition Democratic Party of 
Japan (DPJ) and local labor unions to find a consensus 
candidate, according to the LDP official.  Wire services 
reported late in the day on April 18 that Ito's son-in-law, 
Makoto Yokoo, a reporter for the Nishi Nihon Shimbun, would 
shortly announce his candidacy. 
SCHIEFFER