WEB DESK
LDP sources say former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has died. He was shot during a speech on Friday in the city of Nara, near Kyoto, reports NHK.
A senior Liberal Democratic Party official says former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has died in a hospital where he was receiving treatment. He was shot on the street in Nara City, western Japan, at around 11:30 a.m local time on Friday. He was campaigning for the upcoming Upper House election. He was 67.
Former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has been rushed to hospital after collapsing in a suspected shooting in Nara city. An NHK reporter at the scene says she heard a sound like gunfire at around 11:30 a.m. Abe was delivering a speech at the time.
Police sources say Abe was likely hit from behind by shotgun fire.
Emergency officials say he was taken to hospital without vital signs. Police apprehended a suspect at the scene and arrested him for attempted murder. Officers have seized a gun.
Abe is the leader of the largest faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and wields great influence.
He was in Nara to campaign for a candidate in this weekend’s Upper House election.
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio heard the news as he was traveling in Yamagata Prefecture. Officials are currently gathering information about the incident which one LDP faction leader is calling a challenge to democracy.
Prime Minister Kishida cancelled his remaining campaign events for Friday. He was slated to deliver speeches in Fukushima and Kyoto during the afternoon. He is now heading back to Tokyo.
Former Lower House Speaker Oshima Tadamori has told NHK that he is shocked by what is unfolding in Nara. He says political expression should never be suppressed through violence, adding the use of a firearm is unacceptable.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed deep concern over Abe’s condition. Blinken is attending a G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali. According to agency reports he said: “Our thoughts, our prayers, are with him, with the people of Japan.”