Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Death of Abe Shinzo; Russia's War on Ukraine; Tapes Shed Light on Eichmann's Holocaust Role. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired July 09, 2022 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, just one day after Japan's former prime minister was gunned down, the body of Shinzo Abe is now in Tokyo. As people there come to grips with the act of violence that's hard to comprehend.

With the war raging on in parts of Ukraine, we'll look at some of the challenges people returning to their homes are experiencing.

And while alive, former SS officer Adolf Eichmann denied his role in the Holocaust. Hear the truth about his role in his own words.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: The body of Shinzo Abe has now arrived in Tokyo, one day after the former Japanese prime minister was gunned down during a campaign event in Western Japan.

Earlier, a hearse carrying his body pulled into the Tokyo residence where Abe had lived. Members of Abe's political party lined the streets to pay their respects. The current prime minister also visited the home. No funeral arrangements have been announced yet. We get more from CNN's Will Ripley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A campaign speech in central Japan, one of many in the long career a former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe but this would be his last.

The country's longest serving prime minister and one of Japan's most high-profile figures laying on the ground shot twice, bleeding profusely from wounds in the neck and chest. He would later die after being rushed to the hospital, a team of 20 doctors unable to save him.

His alleged attacker, 41-year-old Yamagami Tetsuya also laid nearby tackled by security. Police say he had a handmade gun and similar pistol like items in his home. They're investigating his motive.

KAZUHISA YAMAMURA, NARA PREFECTURAL POLICE (through translator): The suspect confessed that he had committed the act as he had a grudge against a specific organization and believe the former Prime Minister Abe was part of it.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A shooting like this is almost unthinkable in Japan. Guns are strictly controlled here. It's a long and complicated process to buy one involving classes, background checks, mental health evaluations and drug screening.

It's resulted in one of the lowest crime rates in the world. In Japan, there were only 10 shootings last year, with only one death.

Disbelief on the streets of Tokyo, a crime most people here only hear about in other countries, not their own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's unbelievable to see an attack like this in Japan, which is very safe. It's unbelievable that somebody was walking around with a gun like that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There are many gun crimes happening abroad, but I never imagined it would happen in Japan.

RIPLEY (voice-over): At the scene of the shooting, mourners laid flowers for the former leader, some shedding tears for the man who was widely admired, at times controversial, and one whose death weighs heavily on a country unfamiliar with the grief of gun violence -- Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Blake Essig has the latest for us from Tokyo.

Blake, let's start with this one. Abe's body came home to Tokyo. Tell us about the scene there from those who came to say goodbye.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just a few hours ago, the hearse carrying the body of Shinzo Abe, accompanied by his wife, passed right down the street behind me on their way home from the western city of Nara, where the former prime minister was assassinated.

Now that his body is back here in Tokyo, Abe's office said all funeral arrangements will be discussed. This is a residential neighborhood, pretty quiet.

[03:05:00]

ESSIG: But early on, throughout the day, it's kind of similar to how it is now, only working journalists. You didn't see anybody coming and going, dropping off flowers, coming to pay their respects, like you saw last night in Nara, the scene of the assassination.

But all that changed as the car carrying the Abes got closer. Hundreds of people started showing up, bringing flowers, just trying to catch a glimpse of the former prime minister drive by just one last time. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I was so shocked when I heard about what had happened to Mr. Abe and that someone, especially someone so influential, could get shot with a gun like this in Japan and be killed. There are no words to describe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG: And a number of people came in, like I said to, pay their respects. People were just shocked and saddened by what took place yesterday. Again, no question that this country is in mourning.

Throughout the day, we talked to many more people on the streets in Tokyo that said the same thing, shocked, saddened, in disbelief, that their longest serving prime minister, one of the most powerful men in Japan, could be gunned down in broad daylight, in a country where gun violence is almost nonexistent.

In fact, as Will pointed out in his piece, one gun related death took place in all of 2021 here. While Abe's family is now focused on planning his funeral overnight, throughout the day, we've learned more about the suspect involved in this assassination and the weapon he used.

Police say the suspect, a 41-year-old unemployed man, has admitted to the shooting. He was swarmed by security after the shots were fired and arrested on the spot, in possession of what's been described as a homemade gun.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK is reporting that that gun was made with iron pipes and wrapped with adhesive tape. Those parts were purchased online. And NHK citing police say that they found multiple guns with iron pipe barrels at the suspect's home.

Police say that, when the man went to load the weapon, essentially, he just would drop the bullets into the pipes to load the weapon to use it.

So at this point, Kim, what we know as far as motive is concerned, you know, prime minister Abe, this individual, the suspect, hated a certain group that he believed Abe had ties to, which is part of the reason that he went after him.

BRUNHUBER: Still so many questions in this tragedy. Blake Essig in Tokyo, thank you so much.

For more on this I'm joined by Akihisa Shiozaki, who's a senior adviser to former prime minister Abe and now a member of the House of Representatives.

Thank you so much for being here with us. It must just be beyond belief what's happened to a man you knew well.

How are you coming to terms with this shocking tragedy? AKIHISA SHIOZAKI, SENIOR ABE ADVISER: Thank you. It's -- one night has passed; it's still difficult to accept the reality that such an influential and popular politician is now gone.

I think, you know, the entire nation is still trying to -- struggling to accept the reality that the horrific images of the violent seen were just shocking. And it's hard to recognize and accept that Abe-san is no longer here.

BRUNHUBER: As you say, the fact that he was shot, gunned down like this, it must add to the shock of this incident. You've lived in the U.S. and Japan, so you're well placed to contrast the different gun culture in the two countries.

SHIOZAKI: I think it's particularly shocking that this took place in open air, midday. A lot of images on social media spreading around exactly -- on the assassination site. We're not used to seeing these types of visual images of violence in Japan.

Gun crimes are not very common. And so, I think it's just a tremendous shock that such a incident would happen in a safe country like Japan.

BRUNHUBER: So the former prime minister, I mean, you knew him, what was he like, not as a politician but as a man?

SHIOZAKI: He was very warm. He was thoughtful. He was always full of humor. He loved making jokes and would always make people around him comfortable, creating an atmosphere that one could speak up to him. And I think that was a large asset for him as a politician --

[03:10:00]

SHIOZAKI: -- which led to him being the longest serving prime minister in Japanese history.

BRUNHUBER: One thing that made him unique was that he had a unique relationship with the U.S. He was the first to be with a U.S. President at Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. Talk to us about his ties with America.

SHIOZAKI: I think in prime minister Abe's priorities, preserving the safety and peace of the nation has always been at the top. Prime minister Abe always valued the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance, as a key component to achieve that goal.

So during his term, I think he really worked on and devoted a lot of political resource in deepening the alliance; for example, amending laws that would allow for a collective self-defense to take place, advancing joint operations between the Japanese self-defense force and the U.S. military and pushing the nation to take a more active role in international politics.

BRUNHUBER: Even though he stepped aside as prime minister, he was still an active politician, still an important political figure.

What kind of void does his death leave in Japan today? SHIOZAKI: I think we will see that impact as we go on. I think it's a little too early to judge that. Prime minister Kishida served as the foreign minister under prime minister Abe for 4.5 years.

So I think in terms of international policy, there will be a continuum. And we can already see that with prime minister Kishida's active involvement in the Ukrainian war. So in that sense, we hope that prime minister Abe's legacy and his vision will be carried through in -- through his successors.

BRUNHUBER: One minute obviously not enough to sum up a legacy of a huge international figure, like the foreign prime minister, but that's how long we have.

What would you say that his legacy or his chief legacy would be going forward?

SHIOZAKI: In terms of economics, I think he will be long remembered as the successful advocate of Abenomics, which we remember that in 2012, when he resumed office. The Nikkei index was 9,000 yen. He brought it up threefold to 27,000 and more.

So the series of economic policies and reforms will be long remembered as one of his key legacies. I also think he did great work in advancing women's role in the workplace. Now we have about 3,000 female board members in Japan.

That's five times what we had before Abe-san took office. So I think there's a lot of legacies that he has left behind, economically, socially and internationally as well.

BRUNHUBER: Listen, we really appreciate getting your unique perspective on the man himself. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

SHIOZAKI: Thank you for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And world leaders are remembering Shinzo Abe as a towering statesman and a leader and friend. They're also remembering his ability to build bridges and relationships, often when few other leaders could. Here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: A defender of democracy. That's how Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general, described Shinzo Abe. A champion of the multilateral world order, as Ursula van der Leyen, the European Commission president, that's how she framed her condolences about Shinzo Abe.

The condolences have been pouring in from all around the world. And perhaps one that really touches on the man who Shinzo Abe was is a quote from Emmanuel Macron, the French president, saying, "He worked to bring a balance to the world." Look at the photograph, at that fractious G7 in 2018, that photograph

where President Trump is sitting down. And Angela Merkel is leaning over the table, trying to convince him of something. In the end, Trump doesn't sign the joint communique at the end of the G7.

But in the middle of that photograph, you have Shinzo Abe, standing there with his arms folded, a sort of nonverbal cue to President Trump, who's got his arms folded, that, yes, I'm sort of in that position with you.

[03:15:00]

ROBERTSON: But at the same time, he's got his head cocked back to one side, listening to Merkel. That bridge, that person in between. His relationship with President Trump, he had been called the Trump whisperer, if you will. He built that relationship over a period of time.

It was a skillful way that he built relationships with leaders around the world that enabled him. As with President Trump, you know, he went to Tokyo, they played golf, they ate hamburgers. They exchanged baseball caps.

They didn't take President Trump out to cultural events in Tokyo. He didn't take him to eat sushi. They had the things and did the things that would make President Trump happy. And that allowed Shinzo Abe to have this close relationship with President Trump, so he could call him up, so that the two countries could work together. So when secretary Blinken talked about how he felt that Shinzo Abe had a vision, it's that vision that's been realized today, that vision that brought Japan more into the world order, that built up its defense forces, that enabled it to become this really significant and important partner in the Pacific region, as China grows ever more assertive in the region.

Partner to the United States, partner to NATO, partner to the European Union as well. No coincidence that the Japanese prime minister was invited to the Madrid summit of NATO just a week or so ago.

Why?

Because he was a valued person in a world order that NATO had just described, for the first time, China being a threat and a challenge to the security and values of NATO. Japan was really on the world stage and vital. And that was Shinzo Abe -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian families who fled their homes in the beginning of the war face a tough reality as return. Next, why they chose to come home, even though there isn't much to come back to. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is painting a bleak picture about life in the Russian occupied city of Severodonetsk. It says the humanitarian situation is becoming catastrophic, with 90 percent of homes damaged in the fighting.

Sanitary conditions are especially bad because of the damage to the sewage system. Ukrainian troops conceded the city in late June after months of grueling street battles. Four more advanced U.S. rocket systems will soon be on their way to Ukraine. They're part of a new batch of military aid announced on Friday.

Washington had already promised eight other HIMARS systems with some already on the battlefields.

As the war drags on, many people are still fleeing their homes to find safety elsewhere. But some are doing the opposite and coming back. CNN's Scott McLean talks to a family in the city of Hostomel, who decided to return, despite the many obstacles ahead.

[03:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATERINA TITOVA, HOSTOMEL RESIDENT: Here we spent two days and one night.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the Russians bombed the Kyiv suburb of Hostomel in the early days of war, the Titova family Russian speakers who fled to Donetsk eight years ago, huddled in their tiny basement listening to the new war on their doorstep.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Here 10-year-old Makar (ph) asks his 5-year-old sister Tasiha (ph) what she wants most.

"For Putin to finally die," she tells them.

When the shelling hit their yard, Alex and Katerina grab the kids and left the safety of the crawlspace.

MCLEAN: You had no choice?

TITOVA: You have no choice you have to live you must live to save your lives and your kids.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Our Hostomel is burning, Alex said from the end of his driveway. They walked 10 miles past dead soldiers to find an evacuation bus. Two months later they came back to find Katerina's jewelry studio missing an entire wall window were smashed the roof of their house had holes in it and inside there was shrapnel everywhere.

TITOVA: I even took a piece small of metal from this. It was broken this is our family from Donetsk.

MCLEAN: Why do you still want to live here?

TITOVA: This is our casita. I wanted to live in my own house, and I wanted to make a place for my family for my kids.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Plenty of others feel the same. In their bombed- out village amidst the signs of war there are also signs of life. Mikhail Neymet's (ph) corner store was ripped apart and looted. He says he could easily have fled the country, but he would rather be here.

I have kids, grandkids, he says. You have to keep living. Life goes on.

Down the road, this high-rise complex sustained heavy damage in the fighting. In this building, most apartments are badly damaged. This one has a new window.

MCLEAN: This is actually not the roof of this apartment block. It was actually once the penthouse suite. This would have presumably been the doorway. There are also some dishes lying around from whoever lived here before.

MCLEAN (voice-over): We slept in this room resident Alexander Rachmaninoff tells me, this is where we ate. This is our dining room. During the invasion he and his wife were forced to stay in this filthy basement while Russian soldiers lived in his apartment. Hostomel has no shortage of challenges and yet its people are still coming back.

TITOVA: We even thought about if our house will be burned and destroyed no matter, we will return.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Scott McLean, CNN, Hostomel, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Britain's former finance minister announced his bid to replace prime minister Boris Johnson. Rishi Sunak tweeted Friday, he intends to restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country.

His decision to step down helped set up a wave of defections from the ruling Conservative Party, leading to Johnson's reluctant resignation. The former health secretary Sajid Javid also quit last week and is expected to throw his hat into the ring.

Another likely contender, former top ally Michael Gove, who was sacked on Wednesday after advising the prime minister to resign, Conservative Party officials say they'll reveal a timetable for a leadership election by Monday.

There won't be a general election. Johnson will serve as a caretaker leader until a new prime minister is appointed.

Adolf Eichmann was one of the most notorious Nazis in the Second World War. Ahead, how a new documentary debunks his claim of just following orders. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

[03:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: New recordings of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann are being heard for the first time. It's part of a documentary about the SS officer who was put to death by Israel in 1962. While alive, Eichmann downplayed his role in the Holocaust. But as CNN's Hadas Gold reports, the tapes tell a different story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Adolf Eichmann stood trial in 1961 in Jerusalem, he claimed he didn't know the extent of the Holocaust and was just following orders.

But a few years earlier, in 1957, while hiding in Argentina, Eichmann spent hours boasting about his role, all recorded on tapes meant for memoirs. Now after decades under wraps, the Israeli documentary, "The Devil's Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes," is allowing the world to hear Eichmann in his own voice, as actors reenact the recording sessions.

(VIDEO CLIP, "THE DEVIL'S CONFESSION: THE LOST EICHMANN TAPES")

GOLD (voice-over): In 1960, Eichmann was apprehended by Israeli agents in a covert operation, bringing him to Israel to stand trial, after which he was ultimately executed. Prosecutors knew the tapes existed. They had transcripts. But Eichmann claimed his words were distorted.

Director Yariv Mozer spent months convincing the anonymous donor, who had placed the tapes at the German archives, to give him access.

YARIV MOZER, FILM DIRECTOR: We are very afraid and very, until this day, of what will be the use of the real voice of Adolf Eichmann. And eventually they gave us the permission, because they knew that it was going to be handled in this -- in a good direction.

GOLD (voice-over): With so few survivors still alive to tell their stories, the filmmakers hope these tapes will make sure we never forget -- Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: That's the news for now. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is next. I'll be back in about an hour with more news. Please come back.