Jformer Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe died at the age of 67 after being shot in the back with a homemade shotgun during a campaign rally in the Japanese city of Nara.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to which Shinzo Abe belonged, announced the death of the former prime minister.
This was reported by the public television channel NHK. Abe was flown by helicopter to the hospital after being shot at least once in the back.
“The first shot sounded like a toy,” a witness told NHK.
“He didn’t fall, but then there was a loud bang. The second shot was more noticeable, there was a bang and smoke.”
A source in the Liberal Democratic Party told the Jiji news agency that Shinzo Abe had bleeding from the neck after fainting.
Police arrest a suspect
CNN reported that police seized the gun after the attack and arrested a suspect.
This is a 42-year-old man who was identified as Yamagami Tezzuma, former member of the Japanese Army Maritime Self-Defense Force. He is arrested and charged with attempted murder.
“Former Prime Minister Abe was shot at about 11:30 am in Nara.” Hirokazu MatsunoThis was announced to the Japanese press by the chief of staff.
“The person who allegedly attacked is in custody. Former Prime Minister Abe’s condition is unknown.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Japan fumio kishida condemned the attack on Shinzo Abe.
“It is not yet known what is behind this incident, but this is an act of barbarism during elections, which are the basis of democracy, therefore we will never be able to forgive this and condemn it in the strongest terms,” said Kishida.
Who was Shinzo Abe?
Shinzo Abe was the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the longest-serving prime minister of Japan.
The popular Japanese politician served in this post from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020 and was the first Japanese Prime Minister born after World War II.
Abegrandfather, nobusuke kishiwho was also the former Prime Minister of Japan, was publicly attacked with a knife on July 14, 1960.
Back in 2020, Shinzo Abe resigned as prime minister for health reasons. He played a major role in Tokyo’s efforts to host the 2020 Olympics.
Abe was one of the key figures in the decision of the International Olympic Committee to host the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
In 2013, the Prime Minister was in the front row in Buenos Aires when the then IOC President Jacques Roger opened the envelope to announce Tokyo as the host of 2020, defeating Istanbul in the final vote.
IOC President Thomas Bach thank you Shinzo Abe for his “decisive” contribution to Tokyo 2020.
Abe was also the star of the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics when he paraded in front of the crowd at Maracanã Stadium as a character in the Nintendo Super Mario video game.