Was the mayor really killed over a traffic accident?

Many in Japan find it hard to believe that mayor Ito of Nagaski was really killed because some right-wing thug was angry over damage to his car at a city construction site. The damage was less than 100,000 yen---about $800 US.

"My honest belief is that crime happened because Mayor Ito probably went too far in his peace activism,” said Hirotami Yamada, secretary general of the Nagasaki Council of A-bomb Sufferers, which opposes nuclear weapons. “Why would someone who is near 60 do something like this because of a mere 100,000 yen?” Some in Japan fear that political violence, aimed at silencing opponents of the right, may be increasing here. New York Times.

Full article here.