Local authorities in Afghanistan had been informed in advance of a possible attack on Tetsu Nakamura, making it more likely that Wednesday’s shooting specifically targeted the Japanese doctor, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Nakamura, a 73-year-old local representative of the nongovernmental organization Peshawar-kai, was murdered when he was fatally shot by an armed group in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province.
According to a senior official of the local government, the information about the attack was received from an Afghan intelligence agency before the incident. Based on the information, local authorities offered to dispatch one police officer and four security guards for Nakamura, according to sources.
Nakamura, a driver and four security guards were killed in the attack. It is not known whether the slain security guards were those sent by the authorities.
In Afghanistan, terrorist attacks have frequently been carried out by the Taliban who previously ruled the country and the Islamic State, an Islamic extremist group that targets foreigners to assert its presence.
Regarding the armed group that attacked Nakamura, the governor said Thursday that the attack had been plotted outside the country.
Nakamura had mainly been supporting the construction of irrigation canals in Afghanistan. There are believed to have been some problems over water rights.
In many places across Afghanistan on Thursday, condolences continued to be offered. A 52-year-old farmer who had been working under the instruction of Nakamura said he wanted to apologize to Japan for the Afghans not being able to save the hero’s life.
This comes as Makamura’s body was transported to Japan on Saturday.
President Ghani called Nakamura the hero of both Afghan and Japanese nations as he shouldered his coffin in Hamid Karzai International Airport.
He said Nakamura dedicated all his life to the betterment and welfare of the most deprived communities in Afghanistan.
“He loved humanity and he did not distinguish between humans,” the president said.
He promised that Afghan National Defense and Security forces would bring the killers of the great soul to justice, saying the project implemented will be named after Nakamura.
Nakamura’s family members arrived in Kabul on Friday to receive and accompany his body to Japan.
