Nakamura was fatally shot in a
targeted killing on 4 December 2019 in
Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The attackers also killed five others, including his bodyguards and driver. Police said that Nakamura, while sitting in the front passenger seat, was shot with five bullets at close range from above. According to a doctor performing the autopsy, the bullet entered Nakamura's right chest and lodged near the pelvis. Of the seven to eight assailants, three were armed with fully automatic rifles and other firearms.
Funeral procession On 7 December, a state funeral ceremony was held for Nakamura at
Kabul's
Hamid Karzai International Airport, during which the Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani joined soldiers to carry the coffin wrapped in the Afghan flag towards an airplane. Nakamura's wife, Naoko, and eldest daughter, Akiko, were present at the ceremony in Kabul. President Ghani said: "[Nakamura's] killers will definitely go to
hell. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces will find out the perpetrators and will hand them over to justice". On 8 December, the airplane carrying Nakamura's body reached
Tokyo's
Narita International Airport. Nakamura's wife and eldest daughter, as well as the Japanese Senior Vice Foreign Minister
Keisuke Suzuki, laid flowers and observed a moment of silence as the body was unloaded from the airplane in Tokyo. On 11 December, a funeral was held for Nakamura in his hometown
Fukuoka, attended by 1,300 mourners. The Afghan flag was laid over the coffin of Nakamura. Portraits of the other five Afghans killed with him were also displayed. The Taliban, however, denied involvement in Nakamura's assassination. The Taliban claimed that they had good relations with organisations that contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Provincial authorities in Nangarhar had obtained information about a possible attack on Nakamura about a year before the attack. According to the governor of Nangarhar province, Shah Mahmood Miakhel, Nakamura was cautioned by the provincial government about a plan to abduct or kill him six weeks before the attack. A few days before the attack, another warning was issued to him by the province's security authorities. Although Nakamura did not like being accompanied by security guards, the governor convinced him to the dispatch of four security guards in a separate vehicle for his protection.
Reactions Nakamura's murder sent "shocks of grief" across Afghanistan and Japan, and drew widespread condemnation. In
Tokyo, tributes were paid to Nakamura at music concerts.
Afghan government The Afghan President,
Ashraf Ghani, offered his "deepest condolences" to the families of Nakamura and others who were killed in the attack, and called Nakamura's death a big loss to the people of Afghanistan. Ashraf Ghani's spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, said: "Dr Nakamura dedicated all his life to change the lives of Afghans, working on water management, dams and improving traditional agriculture." The governor of Nangarhar province, Shah Mahmood Miakhel, said: "All the people of Nangarhar were saddened by Dr Nakamura's death and were thankful for the many years he spent helping the people." In January 2021,
Afghan Post issued a commemorative postage stamp of 300
AFN featuring the image of Nakamura.
Japanese government The Japanese Prime Minister,
Shinzō Abe, expressed "shock" over the assassination of Nakamura. He said: "[Nakamura] risked his life in a dangerous environment to do various work, and the people of Afghanistan were very grateful to him." Japanese
Empress Masako, in a statement released by the Imperial Household Agency, mourned for the death of Nakamura.
Peshawar-kai Masaru Murakami, Chairman of Nakamura's aid group
Peshawar-kai, said he would continue all the work Nakamura had undertaken. "Nakamura told me how unreasonable it was that we don't offer help to poor people living in mountainous areas who die of treatable diseases," he added.
UNAMA The
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) tweeted: "UN in Afghanistan condemns and expresses its revulsion at the killing today of respected Japanese aid worker Dr. Tetsu Nakamura in Jalalabad. A senseless act of violence against a man who dedicated much of his life to helping the most vulnerable Afghans." == Memorials ==