'I take responsibility' for Abe's assassination, Nara police chief says

Mayumi Maruyama, July 9: The police chief of the prefecture where Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated said he "take[s] responsibility" for the security failure that resulted in his killing.

Nara Prefectural Police Chief Tomoaki Onizuka told a news conference Saturday that Abe's security personnel followed Onizuka's approved plan.

"After the first report of the incident came at 11:30 a.m., and the situation was revealed, it was the height of the guilt and regret I've felt in my 27 years in law enforcement," he said.

"I feel the weight of my responsibility," Onizuka added, sounding deeply emotional.