Police were called at 6:55 p.m. on November 11th with reports of a man who had set fire to himself in Hibiya Park, in central Tokyo.
The man, who later died, had apparently committed self-immolation in protest at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s constitutional reform to allow Japan to engage in so-called “collective self-defense”.
At time of writing, the identity of the man is unknown. The police and fire brigade were able to douse the flames quickly, and the victim was taken to hospital but later died from his burns. He left behind a note protesting collective self-defense, as well as the controversial relocation of the US air base from Futenma to Henoko Bay in Okinawa. He also apparently filmed himself on a camera found on the scene.
Following the previous attempted self-immolation in Shinjuku in June this year, this is the second such dramatic suicide-by-protest Japan has witnessed in response to the policies of the Abe government. However, Japan has a precedent for such acts.
