Security police chase and tackle the suspectin front of Yamatosaidaiji Station on July 8, 2022 in Nara, Japan. The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is fighting for his life after he was shot while delivering a campaign speech in the western city of Nara on Friday, a government official and local media reported.
Abe, 67, collapsed and was bleeding from the neck after he was attacked from behind during a stump speech at about 11:30 a.m. ahead of Sunday’s upper house elections, national broadcaster NHK and the Kyodo news agency said.
TBS Television reported that Abe had been shot on the left side of his chest and also in the neck.
The former prime minister was hospitalized and appeared to be in cardiac arrest, local media reported
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gives a speech before he was shot on July 8, 2022 in Nara, Japan. The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
The suspected shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was taken into custody on attempted murder charges and police recovered a gun from him, police and NHK reported.
Chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed the shooting and the arrest, but told reporters “the condition of former prime minister Abe is currently unknown.
“Whatever the reason, such a barbaric act can never be tolerated, and we strongly condemn it,” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
Japan’s ex-prime minister Shinzo Abe, center, falls on the ground in Nara, western Japan on July 8, 2022. AP
NHK spoke to witnesses who said a man approached Abe from behind before at least two gunshots were heard.
“He was giving a speech and a man came from behind,” a young woman at the scene told NHK.
“The first shot sounded like a toy. He didn’t fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke,” the woman said.
Security police chase and tackle the suspect in front of Yamatosaidaiji Station on July 8, 2022 in Nara, Japan. The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Image
Security police arrest a suspect who is believed to have shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on July 8, 2022 in Nara, Japan. The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Imag
“After the second shot, people surrounded him and gave him cardiac massage.”
The gun used in the attack appeared to be homemade, NHK reported.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, held office in 2006 for one year and again from 2012 to 2020.
He was forced to step down due to the debilitating bowel condition ulcerative colitis.
An aerial view shows former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on a stretcher headed towards a helicopter on July 8, 2022 in Nara, Japan. The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Image
U.S. ambassador Rahm Emanuel responded to the shooting Friday, saying the country is “saddened and shocked.”
“Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and an unwavering ally of the United States,” Emanuel said in a statement.
“The U.S. government and American people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, and the people of Japan.”
People react after Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot in Nara, western Japan on July 8, 2022. AP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the shooting while speaking with reporters at a G20 meeting in Bali, saying, “This is a very, very sad moment.”
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s special advisor Gen Nakatani told reporters “terror or violence can never be tolerated,” Jiji news agency reported.
The violence was even more shocking given Japan’s famously low levels of crime and tough gun laws.
With Post wires
