- Japan’s former right-wing conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot in the street during an election campaign speech.
- A man shot Abe from behind in broad daylight in Nara, Japanese media reports.
- The politician is said to be unconscious. He was bleeding from the neck. The police overpowered the suspected perpetrator.
As the Japanese television broadcaster NHK reports, the 67-year-old is said to be in cardiopulmonary arrest. He was taken to a hospital. He is said to have been conscious at first.
Pictures show Abe collapsed on the street in the ancient imperial city of Nara. He was on the street during his speech at the House of Lords this Sunday.
According to media reports, he was shot twice from behind. The perpetrator was arrested at the scene by the police for attempted murder, it is said. Abe grabbed his chest as he collapsed, his shirt was smeared with blood.
Legend:
Shinzo Abe served as Prime Minister of Japan for eight years.
key stone
Shinzo Abe ruled Japan from December 2012 to September 2020, making him the country’s longest-serving prime minister. Abe is among the advocates of a revision of the pacifist post-war constitution.
US ambassador shocked by assassination
The US ambassador to Japan was shocked by the attack on Shinzo Abe. “We are all sad and shocked” that the former Prime Minister was shot, wrote US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel in a statement.
“Abe-san” was an “outstanding leader of Japan and a staunch ally of the United States.” “The US government and the American people pray for the well-being of Abe-san, his family and the people of Japan,” Emanuel wrote.