According to the hospital where he was treated, Shinzo Abe, former Japanese Prime Minister, died Friday, July 8, after a gunshot attack. He was 67 years of age.
"Shinzo Abe was taken to the hospital at 12:20 p.m. When he arrived, he was already in cardiopulmonary arrest. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Hidetada Fukshima, a professor in emergency medicine at Nara Medical University Hospital, Kashihara, said that he died at 5:03 p.m.
When gunshots rang out, the 67-year old former chief executive was giving a speech in Nara near a train station during a rally for Sunday's senatorial election. According to Kyodo news agency and national broadcaster NHK, the gunshots were heard.
"It's barbaric in the middle of a election campaign, which was the foundation of democracy and it's absolutely forgivable", said Fumio Kirishida, the Japanese Prime Minister, during a press conference that took place in the afternoon. Before Shinzo Abe's sudden death was confirmed. He was visibly moved and said that he "prayed for" the survival Shinzo Abe his former political mentor. Shinzo Abe had been his foreign minister between 2012 and 2017.
According to NHK, NHK cited law enforcement sources. A man in his 40s was disarmed and taken into custody for attempted murder. According to local media, the suspect, a 41-year-old Japanese male, was once a member of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japanese Navy.
NHK footage shows Shinzo Abe standing on a podium. Then, a loud bang and smoke billows. Several people wrestle another spectator to the ground while they are stunned by the explosion.
Shinzo Abe was "giving a speech, and a man appeared from behind," NHK's young female witness said. The first shot was like a toy. The big bang was the result of him not falling. She added that the second shot was visible more clearly, and you could see the sparks and smoke. She testified that people reached out to him and gave him CPR after the second shot.
According to footage obtained by NHK, Japanese police raided the home of the suspect in the morning. Local officials from the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) claimed that they were not threatened before the raid and that Shinzo Abe's speech had been made public.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg from Norway tweeted that he was "deeply disturbed" by Shinzo Abe's "heinous murder", "a defender democracy".
Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, praised Shinzo Abe for his "world leadership". He tweeted, "UK stands by you in these dark times and sad times."
Many world leaders strongly condemned the attack on Shinzo abe before his death was announced and his condition was declared "very serious". Emmanuel Macron stated that he was shocked by the "heinous attack" on the former Prime Minister. He added, "France stands by the Japanese people" in a tweet. He addressed his "thoughts and thoughts to the family of a great Prime Minister."
"It's very, very sad," stated US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He added that the United States was "deeply sorry and deeply concerned" about this attack.
Shinzo Abe, a former leader of the PLD, was Japan's longest serving prime minister. He was in office from 2006 to 2007, then again between 2012 and 2020. Although he was forced to resign due to health reasons, he remained highly influential within the PLD. He controlled the main faction of Parliament.
