Shinzo Abe, Japan’s former Prime minister, was shot while he was giving a speech in western Japan. He was then airlifted into a hospital. Makoto Morimoto, a local fire official, said that Abe was in cardio-pulmonary arrest (or CPA), meaning that he wasn’t breathing and that his heart had stopped during the airlift.
Hirokazu Matsuno, Chief Cabinet Secretary, told reporters that a male suspect had been arrested at the scene.
Matsuno stated, “A barbaric act such as this is absolutely unacceptable, regardless of the reasons, and we strongly condemn it.”
Japan’s NHK broadcast video of Abe falling on the street, with many security guards running towards him. He was apparently shot just minutes after he began to speak outside a western Nara train station. On social media, at least two gunshots are heard. A man who resembles Abe is heard speaking and a white plume smoke can be seen behind him.
According to Japan’s Kyodo news agency Abe was shot in the neck and chest.
NHK quoted multiple military sources as saying that the suspect had been employed by Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force for three years, from 2005 to 2005. According to NHK, the weapon used in this attack was homemade. According to police, the suspect told them that he had been dissatisfied by Abe and wanted him dead.
Another video posted online shows campaign officials surrounding Abe as they attempt to treat the former leader. He is still influential in Liberal Democratic Party’s largest faction, Seiwakai. Sunday will see elections for Japan’s lower house, which is the weaker chamber of its parliament.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is a member of the same political party that Abe. He was flying by helicopter from Yamagata in northern Japan, his campaign destination, to get to Tokyo. Matsuno stated that all Cabinet ministers would return to Tokyo after their campaign trips.
This attack shocked a country with some of the most strict gun control laws in the world.
Heart failure refers to a condition where the heart is unable to pump enough blood and provide oxygen to the body. Officials in Japan sometimes use this term to describe situations when victims are not alive, but before formal death declarations have been made.
U.S. On Twitter, Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said. “Abe-san is an outstanding leader in Japan and an unwavering ally for the U.S. American citizens and the U.S. Government are praying for Abe-san’s well-being, as well as his family and Japanese people.
We are all shocked and saddened by the murder of Abe Shinzo, former Prime Minister. Abe-san was an unwavering ally to the U.S. and a great leader in Japan. American citizens and the U.S. Government are praying for Abe-san, his family and Japan’s people.
Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary-of-State, expressed sadness about the shooting during a trip to Indonesia.
We don’t know the extent of his condition. His family and Japan’s people are in our thoughts and prayers. “This is a very sad time,” stated the top U.S. diplomat.
Abe, now 67, was Japan’s longest-serving prime Minister. Abe resigned in September 2020 because of health issues. Abe stated that he was still suffering from ulcerative colitis, which had caused him to resign in September 2020. Reporters heard him speak out about how it was difficult to complete many of his goals. He also spoke out about his failure to resolve the Japanese abduction by North Korea years ago, a territorial dispute between Russia, and a revision to Japan’s war-renouncing Constitution.
This was his last goal.
His ultra-nationalist tendencies riled China and Koreas, while his push for normalizing Japan’s defense posture angered many Japanese. Poor public support prevented Abe from achieving his beloved goal of officially rewriting the U.S.-drafted, pacifist constitution.
According to Abe supporters, his legacy was a stronger U.S.–Japan relationship meant to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities. However, Abe also made enemies by forcing his defense goals through parliament and other contentious issues, despite strong public opposition.
Abe, a political blueblood, was raised to follow the example of his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi, who was a former Prime Minister. His political rhetoric was often about making Japan a normal and beautiful nation, with a stronger military and a bigger role in international affairs.
