Japanese media showed that a man opened fire on Shinzo Abe from behind a house gun while speaking on a dreary traffic island in the western city of Nara.
Japanese media showed that a man opened fire at Shinzo Abe from behind a house gun while speaking on a dreary traffic island in the western city of Nara.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo AbeoPublic broadcaster NHK said the longest-serving leader died on Friday after being shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election.
Japanese media had previously shown that a man with an apparently homemade gun fired at 67-year-old Abe from behind while speaking on a dreary traffic island in the western city of Nara.
It was the first assassination of a current or former Japanese prime minister since the days of pre-war militarism in the 1930s.
Speaking before the announcement of Abe’s death, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the shooting in “the strongest possible terms”, while the Japanese people and world leaders expressed surprise at the violence in a country in which political violence is rare and guns are banned. is tightly controlled.
Struggling to contain his emotions, Kishida said, “This attack is an act of election brutality – the foundation of our democracy – and completely unforgivable.”
A fire department official said Abe appeared to be having a heart attack on the way to the hospital.
Police said a 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of shooting. NHK quoted the suspect, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, as telling police that he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him.
Abe was giving a campaign speech outside a train station when around 11:30 am (0230 GMT) two shots fired. Security officers were then seen dealing with a man in a gray T-shirt and beige trousers.
Makoto Ichikawa, a businessman at the scene, said: “There was a loud bang and then smoke came out.” He said the gun was the size of a television camera.
“The first shot, nobody knew what was going on, but after the second shot, the special police dealt with what they saw.”
transfusion
Earlier, the Kyodo News Service published a photo of Abe lying on a road railing with blood on his white shirt. There was a crowd of people around him, one doing a heart massage.
Nara emergency services said the right side of his neck and left collarbone were injured. His brother, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, said Abe was being transfused.
NHK showed live footage of Abe’s wife, Aki, who was traveling by train to the hospital where she was being treated.
Airo Hino, a professor of political science at Waseda University, said such shootings were unprecedented in Japan. “Nothing like this has ever happened,” he said.
Senior Japanese politicians are accompanied by armed security agents, but often become close to the public, especially during political campaigns when they give roadside speeches and shake hands with passersby.
In 2007, the mayor of Nagasaki was shot dead by a yakuza gangster. The head of the Japan Socialist Party was assassinated in 1960 by a right-wing youth during a speech with a samurai short sword. Some other prominent post-war politicians were attacked but not injured.
Police said the suspected shooter was a resident of Nara. Media said he had served in the Japanese military for three years until 2005. Defense Minister Kishi declined to comment on that.
Abe served two terms as prime minister, stepping down in 2020 citing poor health. But they continue to dominate the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which controls one of its major factions.
Analysts say Abe’s security Kishida was hoping to use the election to emerge from Abe’s shadow and define his prime ministership. Kishida had stopped campaigning after being shot. All major political parties have condemned the attack.