Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been assassinated. A man shot Abe from behind in broad daylight during a campaign speech in the ancient imperial city of Nara, who was then taken to the hospital, where he later died.
Shinzo Abe, ex-Japanese prime minister, has been shot dead while delivering a campaign speech in the ancient imperial city of Nara. The Jiji news agency reported, citing party circles, that Abe was fired twice, bled from the neck and collapsed. He died in hospital a little later.
It was previously reported that the 67-year-old should no longer show any vital signs: The Japanese television station NHK reported, citing the fire department, that Abe apparently had a cardiovascular arrest. He was first taken to a hospital by helicopter.
The perpetrator was arrested by the police at the scene of the crime, it said. According to a media report, he was an ex-member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. NHK reported Friday, citing Defense Department sources. The 41-year-old is said to have fired two shots at Abe from behind with a homemade gun.
Abe ruled Japan from December 2012 to September 2020, making him the country’s longest-serving prime minister. Under him, Japan had moved significantly to the right. Abe is among the staunch supporters of a revision of the post-war pacifist constitution. In Article 9 of the Constitution, Japan “forever renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation, and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.”
Elections to the House of Lords will take place in Japan on Sunday. The LDP is expected to win a landslide victory. This could gain momentum in the debate about changing the constitution. The island kingdom of Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world and is considered one of the safest countries in the world.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ended his election campaign shortly after the attack on his predecessor Abe. Kishida immediately made his way back to his government seat in Tokyo from the northern prefecture of Yamagata on Friday, Japanese media reported. His government set up a crisis team.
“Violence against political activities is absolutely unacceptable,” said a Communist Party official. Japan’s government is in crisis mode.
The US ambassador to Japan was also shocked. “We are all sad and shocked” that the former prime minister was shot, said Ambassador Rahm Emanuel in a statement. “Abe-san” was a “outstanding leader of Japan and a staunch ally of the United States”.
