MANILA, Philippines – Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe died in hospital after he was shot at a political campaign event, local media reported on Friday, July 8, 2022. He was 67.
Abe was shot twice at about 11:30 a.m. while giving speech near a train station in the city of Nara, east of Osaka.
Officials in Tokyo said he suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of his neck.
The ex-PM was rushed to the nearest hospital but in a state of cardiac arrest at 12:20 local time. He was in critical condition several hours after the shooting incident.
Abe was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m. according to the head of Nara Medical University.
Police already arrested the suspect Tetsuya Yamagami, a Nara resident in his 40s.
Abe, who was Japan's longest-serving prime minister, held office in 2006 for a year and then again from 2012 to 2020, before stepping down citing health reasons.
Japan has a parliamentary election set this Sunday and that is why he was out on the streets giving a speech supporting one of the candidates.
"This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections - the very foundation of our democracy - and is absolutely unforgivable," said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Reports said that this kind of violence is extremely rare in Japan.
— The Summit Express
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| Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has been assassinated while giving a campaign speech in southern Japan. Photo Credit: Facebook/Prime Minister's Office of Japan |
Abe was shot twice at about 11:30 a.m. while giving speech near a train station in the city of Nara, east of Osaka.
Officials in Tokyo said he suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of his neck.
The ex-PM was rushed to the nearest hospital but in a state of cardiac arrest at 12:20 local time. He was in critical condition several hours after the shooting incident.
Abe was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m. according to the head of Nara Medical University.
Police already arrested the suspect Tetsuya Yamagami, a Nara resident in his 40s.
Abe, who was Japan's longest-serving prime minister, held office in 2006 for a year and then again from 2012 to 2020, before stepping down citing health reasons.
Japan has a parliamentary election set this Sunday and that is why he was out on the streets giving a speech supporting one of the candidates.
"This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections - the very foundation of our democracy - and is absolutely unforgivable," said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Reports said that this kind of violence is extremely rare in Japan.
— The Summit Express
