The gun attack on former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who died later, triggered unfavourable comments from thousands of Chinese nationalists on social media on Friday.
Taking to Twitter, Badiucao, a prominent Chinese dissident cartoonist, uploaded screenshots of the adverse reactions on the Chinese microblogging website Weibo, when Abe was shot at and the news of his demise was not divulged.
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Badiucao said according to the messages on Weibo, Abe's assassin was called a "hero" and some other users also sent death wishes to the former Japanese Prime Minister.
In subsequent tweets of Badiucao, comments such as "I am waiting for Abe‘s death, “Who is the attacker？I want to donate money”, “I have to say, it's a great news”, also surfaced on Weibo.
A report by the Associated Press said that comments such as “Hope he’s (Shinzo Abe) not OK,” were seen on social media, however, the specific platform was not mentioned. Other Chinese nationalists said that Abe's injuries were a comfort to the souls of people who had died in Japan’s invasion of China during World War II.
{{/usCountry}}A report by the Associated Press said that comments such as “Hope he’s (Shinzo Abe) not OK,” were seen on social media, however, the specific platform was not mentioned. Other Chinese nationalists said that Abe's injuries were a comfort to the souls of people who had died in Japan’s invasion of China during World War II.
{{/usCountry}}While these posts on social media were not the common view of the Chinese people, they reflected a strong public sentiment, encouraged by government propaganda, against right-wing Japanese politicians who questioned or denied that the military committed atrocities in China, AP further reported.
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The Chinese foreign ministry, which expressed shock over the attack on Shinzo Abe and hoped for his recovery, refused to comment on the unfavourable comments against the former Japanese PM.
“This unexpected incident should not be linked with China-Japan relations,” foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing on Friday.
Abe, 67, was shot at 11.30 am Friday, according to broadcaster NHK and Japanese news agencies. He was shot from behind - reportedly by a 41-year-old local with a homemade shotgun - minutes after he began his speech.
Abe was airlifted to a hospital where he was treated for several hours but could not be saved.