Here is what we know so far:
*According to local media reports, Abe is showing no vital signs after attack
*A sound like a gunshot was heard at the time, and a male suspect was detained at the scene, NHK said.
*An NHK reporter on the scene said they could hear two consecutive bangs during Abe’s speech.
*According to reports, Abe was shot from behind.
* Abe was holding his chest when he collapsed, with his shirt smeared with blood
*Abe was making an election campaign speech ahead of Sunday’s election for the parliament’s upper house
* Japan has some of the world’s toughest gun-control laws, and annual deaths from firearms in the country of 125 million people are regularly in single figures. Getting a gun licence is a long and complicated process even for Japanese citizens, who must first get a recommendation from a shooting association and then undergo strict police checks.
Shinzo Abe, former Japanese PM, shot during speech in city of Nara
Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, falls on the ground in Nara, western Japan (Kyodo News via AP)
Longest-serving PM
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving premier, had resigned because of poor health in 2020. “I cannot be prime minister if I cannot make the best decisions for the people. I have decided to step down from my post,” Abe, had said. Abe has battled the disease ulcerative colitis for years.
Abe resigned from his first stint as prime minister in 2007, citing ill-health after a year plagued by scandals in his cabinet and a huge election loss for his ruling party. He had since kept his illness in check with medicine that was not previously available.
Abe’s record-setting run as prime minister before he resigned in 2020 brought stability to Japan after a revolving door of six administrations, including a previous stint by him. He helped Japan escape from a cycle of deflation, endured a Trump administration that questioned the nation’s only military alliance, and worked to improve ties with its biggest trading partner China, which were at their most hostile in decades when he took office.
Abe is perhaps best known for his plans to revive Japan’s flagging economy through unprecedented monetary easing and regulatory reform that was eventually labeled “Abenomics.” He has been seen as a steady hand who has consolidated power during his record run and been able to overcome scandals, including one that came to light in 2017 over questionable government land allocations for schools provided to associates of Abe and his wife Akie.
Watch Shinzo Abe, former Japanese PM, shot during speech in city of Nara
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