Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dies after shooting at campaign event (Report)

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died after being shot during a campaign speech in the city of Nara.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that Abe, 67, was shot at a campaign event at 11:30 am local time. He appeared to be bleeding from the chest after being shot from behind in the middle of a speech. Citing police sources, NHK reported that Abe was allegedly shot in the back.

NHK reported that Abe was taken to Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara City. According to media reports, Abe was not breathing and his heart stopped at the scene. At 2:50 pm, at a press conference, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Abe was in “critical condition”. “For now, doctors are doing everything they can,” Kishida told reporters at the prime minister’s residence. “Now, I hope and pray that former Prime Minister Abe survives this.”

Just before 6 pm local time, NHK reported that Abe had died.

According to local media, witnesses heard two gunshots before seeing Abe fall to the ground, his shirt stained with blood. After that, security surrounded the former prime minister. According to Kyodo News, Abe was shot in the back and neck.

Police arrested a 41-year-old man from Nara, Tetsuya Yamagami, for attempted murder. After the incident, footage shows that Yamagami did not attempt to flee and was arrested at the scene. Citing government sources, Kyodo News reported that Yamagami was a former member of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. NHK reported that the weapon appeared to be homemade, citing police.

After the shooting, Rahm Emanuel, US Ambassador to Japan, tweeted: “We are all saddened and shocked by the shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe-san has been a notable leader of Japan and a strong ally of the US. The US government and the American people pray for the well-being of Abe-san, his family and the people of Japan.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is in Indonesia for G20 meetings, said he was “deeply saddened and deeply concerned” by the news.

Abe was in the western city of Nara to speak on behalf of the local Liberal Democrat candidate ahead of this week’s upper house elections.

The incident shocked Japan, a country with the strictest gun laws in the world and where shootings are rare. Likewise, political violence is extremely rare, with the last shooting of a political figure in 2007 when Nagasaki Mayor Ito Icho was killed by a member of the Yakuza organized crime group.

The last time a current or former Prime Minister of Japan was shot was 90 years ago, when Kantaro Suzuki assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi in what is known as the May 15, 1932 Incident.

Abe served as Japan’s prime minister from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, resigned in 2020 due to chronic health issues. Yoshihide Suga was chosen as Abe’s successor in September 2020.