Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot during a campaign speech in western Japan. He was airlifted to a hospital after the incident in Nara, but officials said he was not breathing and his heart had stopped.
Police arrested the suspected gunman at the scene of an attack that shocked many in Japan, which is one of the world’s safest nations and has some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his cabinet ministers hastily returned to Tokyo from campaign events around the country after the shooting, which he called “dastardly and barbaric”.
The public broadcaster NHK aired footage showing Mr Abe collapsed on the street, with several security guards running toward him. He was bleeding and holding his chest. In the next moment, security guards leap on top of a man in grey shirt, who lies face down on the pavement. A double-barrelled device, which appeared to be a handmade gun, can be seen on the ground.
