Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot while delivering a campaign speech on Friday in western Japan and was transported to a hospital, but the country’s national public broadcaster NHK later said it had succumbed to its wounds. Several Japanese and international media quoted officials from Abe’s political party and the regional hospital where he was treated to confirm his death.
Local fire department chief Makoto Morimoto said Abe was on cardiopulmonary arrest, or CPA, meaning he was not breathing and his heart had stopped, even though he was transported to the hospital.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that police had arrested a suspicious man at the scene of the attack.
“A barbaric act like this is absolutely unforgivable, whatever the reasons, and we strongly condemn it,” Matsuno said.
Police officers at the scene where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot during a political event in Nara, Japan, on July 8, 2022. Kosuke Okahara / Bloomberg / Getty
Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who belongs to the same political party as Abe, returned to Tokyo by helicopter from his own campaign destination in Yamagata, northern Japan. He earlier told reporters that “he was unaware of the motives and background of this attack, but this attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections – the very basis of our democracy – and is absolutely unforgivable.”
NHK aired a video of Abe collapsed on the street with several security guards running towards him. He was shot a few minutes after he started talking outside a train station west of Nara. In the videos posted on social media you can hear at least two apparent shots while talking to a man who looks like Abe and sees a column of white smoke behind the former prime minister.
According to the Japanese news agency Kyodo, Abe suffered gunshot wounds to his neck and chest, but doctors at the hospital where he was treated later said it was two wounds to his neck that cost him his life.
Then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s official residence on August 28, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. FRANCK ROBICHON / SWIMMING POOL / Getty
NHK, citing various military sources, said the suspect was employed for three years in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force until 2005. The network described the weapon used in the attack as homemade. Police said the suspect had told them he was not satisfied with Abe and that he wanted to kill him.
Other videos posted online show campaign officials surrounding Abe in an apparent attempt to deal with the popular former leader, who was still influential in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and led his largest faction, Seiwakai. Elections for Japan’s upper house, the least powerful in parliament, are set for Sunday.
The attack was a shock in a country that is one of the safest in the world and has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world.
Japan has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and the lowest rates of armed violence 02:36
In a statement provided to CBS News, a White House spokesman said the Biden administration was “surprised and saddened to learn of the violent attack on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe” and added that officials “they followed the reports closely and kept our thoughts in check.” his family and the people of Japan. “
During a visit to Indonesia, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that Abe’s assassination was “deeply disturbing.”
Blinken said he had shared “the very deep condolences of the United States” with his Japanese counterpart during a meeting in Indonesia.
“This is shocking,” the top U.S. diplomat said. “It’s deeply disturbing in itself. It’s also such a strong personal loss for so many people. For the United States, Prime Minister Abe was an extraordinary partner and someone who was clearly a great leader.”
He credited Abe for taking US-Japan relations “to new heights” during his time in office, and described him as “a leader with a great vision” and “the incredible ability to work towards that vision.”
One of the first world leaders to express his condolences after Abe’s death was the Indian premiere of Narendra Modi, who described the murdered Japanese politician as one of his “dearest friends” and an “imposing statesman”. “.
I am shocked and saddened beyond words by the tragic disappearance of one of my dearest friends, Shinzo Abe. He was a great global statesman, a prominent leader, and a remarkable administrator. He dedicated his life to making Japan and the world a better place.
– Narendra Modi (arenarendramodi) July 8, 2022
Abe, 67, was the longest-serving Japanese prime minister. He resigned in September 2020 due to health issues. Abe said at the time that he was suffering from a recurrence of ulcerative colitis that ended his first term in 2007. He told reporters it was “heartbreaking” to leave many of his goals unfinished and spoke of his failure to resolve them. the issue of the Japanese kidnapped years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia and a revision of the Japanese constitution renouncing war.
This last goal was a great reason why he was such a divisive figure.
His ultranationalism irritated Korea and China, and his drive to normalize Japan’s defensive stance angered many Japanese. Abe did not achieve his beloved goal of formally rewriting the pacifist constitution drafted by the United States due to lack of public support.
Abe’s supporters said his legacy was a stronger relationship between the United States and Japan that aimed to strengthen Japan’s defense capacity. But Abe also became enemies by forcing his defense goals and other controversial issues through parliament, despite strong public opposition.
Abe was a blue-blooded politician who was prepared to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. His political rhetoric often focused on making Japan a “normal” and “beautiful” nation with a stronger military and a more important role in international affairs.