Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of the nation’s most influential leaders since the war, was killed on Friday by a gunman who attacked him as he was attending a campaign rally in Nara, outside Osaka, according to NHK, the public broadcaster. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that he was deeply shocked at the news about an assault on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while attending a campaign event in western Japan, and was praying for the recovery of Shinzo Abe. Earlier today, the 67-year-old Abe was rushed to a hospital after being shot at and slumped at 11:30 am local time during his election speech in western Japan. Abe is suffering from cardiac failure following an apparent gunshot wound in his campaign speech on Friday in western Japan, the public broadcaster NHK said.
Kyodo News Agency and public broadcaster NHK said the 67-year-old Abe appeared in cardiac arrest during an airlift to a hospital, having been initially conscious and responsive. A reporter from a state broadcaster positioned on the scene reported hearing at least two gunshots, seeing blood, and that Abe had slumped on the ground following a second gunshot.
The country of Japan was shocked when the news of the death was reported early evening Japanese time. The news of Abe’s shooting and his later death shocked leaders worldwide, many of whom had worked with Abe throughout his long-term reign. After the shooting of Abe, but before confirmation of his death, the Chinese foreign ministry sent its condolences to the Abes family.
Minutes before Shinzo Abe was scheduled to begin his campaign rally speech, suspected killers from Shinzo Abe’s assassination attempted to come close to Abe, shooting and killing him. Footage from the moment shows Shinzo Abe’s raising of a fist in the middle of his campaign rally speech – and the cameras then shaking off when two booming shots boomed. Several photos show Shinzo Abes, beginning his campaign-rally speech in Naras western district, smiling while the people surrounding him cheer.
Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes Japan has died after being shot and killed while giving a campaign rally speech on Friday. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that they were shocked at the shooting. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh said Tragic attack on my friend Former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot and killed while giving a campaign speech in west Japan, on Friday, July 8, 2022, hospital officials said. TOKYO (AP) — Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and wounded in western Japan Friday while giving a campaign speech, officials said and was taken by plane to hospital, but Abe was unconscious, with his heart stopped.
Police arrested a suspected gunman at the scene of the shooting. The deaths shocked Japan’s middle, which has an exceptionally tight gun control law. Political violence is a rarity in Japan, a nation of tight gun regulations.
Opposition leaders in Japan denounce the shootings as a challenge to Japan’s democracy. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said that he was saddened and shocked by the shooting.
Arrow right A longtime fixture on the country’s political landscape, Abe served briefly as prime minister – from 2006-2007 – and then held the nation’s highest political office again, from 2012-2020. Abe, 67, is a former Liberal Democratic Party leader and Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, serving from 2006 to 2007 and then from 2012 to 2020, before stepping down for health reasons. Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, Abe became the youngest politician since World War II to ever lead Japan when he first took office in 2006.
His term was longer than his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who led the nation from 1957 to 1960; his father, Shintaro Abe, was also the Chief Cabinet Secretary, generally considered the second-most powerful post in the country. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is arguably the most polarizing, complicated politician in recent Japanese history, outraging both liberals at home and the victims of the Second World War across Asia with his hawkish push for a military overhaul and his revisionist views about his nation’s unjust historical verdict on its brutal past. In another frame, election officials surrounded Abe, treating the popular former leader, who is still powerful within the ruling LDP and heads the largest faction of his party, the Seiwakai.