Shinzo Abe, the prime minister who rescued JJ.OO. of pandemic

Shinzo Abe, who died after being shot in the streets of Nara while participating in a political event, he was the prime minister who brought the 2020 Olympic Games to his country and, after an unexpected script twist, made it possible for the great sporting event to be held in Tokyo despite the coronavirus pandemic and with isa. late in the year.

Abe stars in the entire trajectory of tokyo olympic project: from its win in 2013, by winning the venue for the Games from Madrid and Istanbul, to the forced postponement due to the COVID-19 health crisis in March 2020.

In the middle, his memorable appearance at the closing ceremony of Rio 2016 disguised as Super Mario to take the baton of the Games.

He has not, however, attended the Games as prime minister, since resigned in September 2020 due to health problems arising from chronic ulcerative colitis.

In the early years of the Games organization, Abe had to deal with ongoing controversies carried out by members of the organizing committee. Logo plagiarism, the disposal of the initial project for the Olympic Stadium and the scandal of buying votes to win the Games are some of the cases.

Faced with the changes in leadership and strategy indicated by these problems, the IOC has always found a reliable partner in Abe, whom it considers the common thread of a project that should lead to the best Games in history.

The relationship was tested, and successful, during the covid pandemic, when the Japanese government and the IOC talked for weeks over whether the Games should be canceled.

On March 24, 2020, after talking on the phone with Thomas BachIOC president, Abe appeared at the doors of his residence to confirm what the world was waiting for: “Japan, as the host country, under current circumstances, has proposed that the IOC study whether the Games can be postponed for about a year. so that athletes have the best conditions. Thomas Bach told me he agrees one hundred percent. “

The Games were postponed for a year, with the consequence of economic costs for Japan. Its final value, revealed just two weeks ago, has reached 1.42 trillion yen, about 12,310 million euros, when calculating the price when Tokyo was chosen as the venue was approximately 6,625 million euros. The number rose mainly due to the impact of the pandemic, but the Abe government kept its promises and continued with the organization.

Abe, 67, died after being shot in the back at an election rally in Nara, western Japan. The Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), to which he belongs, has confirmed his death.

Nara University Hospital medical services announced at a press conference that Abe died at 5:03 pm local time (8:03 GMT) as a result of damage to arteries and heart and explained that he no longer had vital signs. when it comes to medical facilities.

In the approximately four hours that he was hospitalized at the center, where he was transferred by helicopter, doctors tried to stop the bleeding in his neck and chest and gave him blood transfusions, without saving his life.

When the attack became known, and before his death was confirmed, Thomas Bach declared himself “extremely shocked” for “cowardly attack” on the former prime minister.

“My thoughts are with him. I hope and pray that he recovers,” Bach said in a statement issued by the International Olympic Committee.

Yamagami Tetsuya, a 41-year-old former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Forces (Japanese Army), was arrested as the culprit. He was “dissatisfied” with the former president, so “he went to kill him,” police sources told local media.

The conservative leader is at a campaign event for partial elections in the Upper House of the Diet (Parliament of Japan) to be held this Sunday, where Abe’s PLD and the current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, are hoping to re -prove its vast majority.

Election rallies are often held in Japan in the middle of the street and there are few security measures, due to the low crime rate and weapons attacks in the country.