In the city of Nara in western Japan, an unknown person shot at former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He was taken to the hospital in extremely serious condition. A police spokesman said that the politician had a cardiac arrest.
The same wording was used by the former governor of Tokyo, Yoichi Masuzoe. The BBC writes that in Japan “this term is often used when the death is not officially confirmed.” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the condition of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is assessed as “extremely serious.”
According to NHK TV channel and Kyodo Tsushin agency, Abe was shot twice from a gun in the back when he spoke at a rally near Nara Station in support of his party’s candidate for the upcoming elections of the upper house of the Japanese parliament on Sunday. After being wounded, the former prime minister lost consciousness. One of the witnesses of the incident said that the politician had a heart massage. Abe was taken to the hospital by helicopter. According to the latest data, he was pronounced clinically dead.
The attacker turned out to be a 41-year-old resident of Nara Tetsuya Yamagami. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The motives of the attack are not yet known. According to preliminary data, he shot Abe in the back with a homemade shotgun. The weapons were confiscated. Local media write that Tetsuya Yamagami is a former employee of the Japanese Maritime Self—Defense Forces.
