This picture taken on July 6, 2022, shows former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivering a campaign speech for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidate Keiichiro Asao for the Upper House election in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo. PHOTO | AFP
Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe died in hospital on Friday, local media reported, hours after being shot at a political campaign event in an attack condemned as "absolutely unforgivable".
Citing a senior member of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, national broadcaster NHK said "former prime minister Abe died at a hospital in Kashihara city, Nara, where he was receiving medical treatment. He was 67."
The death was also reported by other broadcasters as well as the Japanese news agencies Jiji and Kyodo.
A man (bottom) suspected of shooting former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is tackled to the ground by police at Yamato Saidaiji Station in the city of Nara on July 8, 2022. Shinzo Abe was shot at a campaign event. PHOTO | AFP
"Shinzo Abe was transported to (the hospital) at 12.20 pm. He was in a state of cardiac arrest upon arrival. Resuscitation was administered. However, unfortunately, he died at 5:03 pm," said Professor Hidetada Fukushima at Nara Medical University hospital.
The assassination of the country's best-known politician comes despite Japan's strict gun laws and with campaigning underway ahead of upper house elections on Sunday.
Earlier Prime Minister Fumio Kishida abandoned the campaign trail and flew to Tokyo by helicopter where he addressed reporters in a voice that wavered with emotion. "Former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot in Nara," he said, condemning "a barbaric act during election campaigning, which is the foundation of democracy."
"It is absolutely unforgivable. I condemn this act in the strongest terms."
The attack came before noon in the country's western region of Nara, where Abe had been delivering a stump speech with security present, but spectators able to approach him easily.
Footage broadcast by NHK showed him standing on a stage when a man dressed in a grey shirt and brown trousers begins approaching from behind, before drawing something from a bag and firing.
At least two shots appear to be fired, each producing a cloud of smoke.
Suspected shooter
As spectators and reporters ducked, a man was shown being tackled to the ground by security. He was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, reports said.
Local media identified the man as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, citing police sources, with several media outlets describing him as a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, the country's navy.
He was wielding a weapon described by local media as a "handmade gun", and NHK said he told police after his arrest that he "targeted Abe with the intention of killing him".
Abe was bleeding from the neck, witnesses said and photographs showed. He was reportedly initially responsive but subsequently lost consciousness.
Officials from the local chapter of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party said there had been no threats before the incident and that his speech had been announced publicly.
PM Kishida said "no decision" had been made on the election, though several parties announced their senior members would halt campaigning in the wake of the attack.
