Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe shot dead at campaign speech

Asia-Pacific, News July 8, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died in hospital after he was shot at a political campaign speech on Friday in the city of Nara, local media reported.

He was unconscious and bleeding when he was airlifted to Nara Medical University in the city of Kashihara. Public broadcaster NHK reported that police said Abe was shot in the chest and around the neck.

The dramatic footage by Japanese media showed Abe giving a speech in Nara when the gunshot was heard. Abe then collapsed on the street, with several security guards rushing toward him. He was seen holding his chest with his shirt stained with blood.

The security guards immediately detained the attacker seen lying face down on the pavement. A double-barreled device which appeared to be a handmade shotgun was also seen on the ground.

The 41-year-old suspect identified as Tetsuya Yamagami is believed to be a resident of Nara city where the shooting took place. Japanese defense sources say the suspect worked for the Maritime Self Defense Force for three years until around 2005.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shot in Nara city on July 8, 2022. (Image Credit: Kyodo)

In a news conference, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Abe is in critical condition and is undergoing emergency treatment at the hospital. Kishida said that Japan was “trying to comprehend this tough situation.” The Japanese authorities would “take appropriate measures to handle the situation,” Kishida said in a live address to the nation live from Tokyo.

Kishida and his cabinet ministers hurriedly returned to Tokyo from campaign events across the country after the shooting. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said “A barbaric act like this cannot be tolerated for any reason whatsoever, and we condemn it firmly.”

The 67-year-old Abe was Japan’s longest-serving leader before he stepped down in 2020.

World leaders expressed shock over the attack in a country that’s one of the world’s safest and has the strictest gun control laws anywhere.

Video of Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe being shot and the suspect being tackled – @nhk_news pic.twitter.com/VvordynTkd
— IRIA (@IRIA_Research) July 8, 2022