Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot on Friday morning while giving a campaign speech for an upcoming national election.
He was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech in Nara in western Japan. He was airlifted to a hospital for emergency treatment but was not breathing and his heart had stopped.
The hospital that tried to save him said he died at 5.03pm, about five and a half hours after he was shot. A doctor said Mr Abe had bled to death from two deep wounds, one on the right side of his neck. He had no vital signs when he was brought in.
In an address to the nation earlier, prime minister Fumio Kishida condemned the shooting as unforgivable, calling it a “dastardly and barbaric” act.
Police have arrested a 41-year-old man suspected of carrying out the shooting. Identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, a resident of Nara, he was a former maritime self-defence force member, reported Fuji TV.
He reportedly told police he was unhappy with the former Japanese prime minister and intended to kill him.
