FILE: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister’s Office August 28, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. FRANCK ROBICHON/POOL/Getty
Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead while delivering a campaign speech in western Japan on Friday and flown to a hospital, but the country’s national public broadcaster NHK later said he succumbed to his injuries. Several Japanese and international news outlets cited officials from Abe’s political party and the regional hospital where he was treated as confirming his death.
Local fire department official Makoto Morimoto said Abe was in cardiopulmonary arrest, or CPA, meaning he wasn’t breathing and his heart stopped even as he was flown to the hospital.
Chief of Cabinet Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters police arrested a male suspect at the scene.
“A barbaric act like this is absolutely unforgivable, for whatever reason, and we condemn it in the strongest terms,” Matsuno said.
Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who belongs to the same political party as Abe, returned to Tokyo by helicopter from his campaign destination of Yamagata in northern Japan. He previously told reporters that he was “unaware of the motives and background behind this attack, but this attack is an act of brutality that took place during the elections – the foundation of our democracy – and is absolutely unforgivable.”
NHK aired video of Abe collapsing in the street and several security guards running towards him. He was reportedly shot dead minutes after he began speaking outside a train station in western Nara. In videos posted to social media, at least two apparent gunshots can be heard as a man resembling Abe speaks, and a plume of white smoke can be seen behind the former PM.
Police officers at the scene where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead during a political event in Nara, Japan July 8, 2022. Kosuke Okahara/Bloomberg/Getty
According to the Japanese news agency Kyodo, Abe suffered gunshot wounds to the neck and chest.
NHK, citing multiple military sources, said the suspect was employed in Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force for three years until 2005. The network described the weapon used in the attack as homemade. Police said the suspect told them he was unhappy with Abe and wanted to kill him.
Other videos posted online show campaign officials centered around Abe in an apparent attempt to cover the popular former leader, who was still influential in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and led its largest faction, Seiwakai. Elections to the Japanese upper house, the less powerful chamber of the Japanese parliament, will take place on Sunday.
The attack came as a shock in a country that is among the safest in the world and has some of the strictest gun control laws.
Japan has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and the lowest rates of gun violence 02:36
In a statement to CBS News, a White House spokesman said the Biden administration was “shocked and saddened to hear of the violent attack on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” adding that officials are “closely monitoring the reports and our… follow thoughts”. his family and the Japanese people.”
During a visit to Indonesia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that Abe’s killing was “deeply disturbing”.
Blinken said he offered “the heartfelt condolences of the United States” to his Japanese counterpart during a meeting in Indonesia.
“This is shocking,” said the top US diplomat. “It is deeply troubling in and of itself. It is also such a strong personal loss for so many people. For the United States, Prime Minister Abe was an exceptional partner and someone who was clearly a great leader.”
He credited Abe with taking US-Japan relations “to new heights” during his tenure, calling him “a leader of great vision” and “an incredible ability to work toward that vision.”
One of the first world leaders to offer his condolences after Abe’s death was India’s premiere Narendra Modi, who called the slain Japanese leader one of his “dearest friends” and a “supreme statesman”.
I am indescribably shocked and saddened by the tragic death of one of my dearest friends, Shinzo Abe. He was an outstanding global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a notable administrator. He dedicated his life to making Japan and the world a better place.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2022
Abe, 67, was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He resigned in September 2020 for health reasons. Abe said at the time he was suffering from a recurrence of ulcerative colitis, which 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 the issue of the Japanese kidnapped by North Korea years ago, a territorial dispute with Russia and an overhaul of Japan’s war-refusing constitution.
That last goal was a big reason why he was such a divisive figure.
His ultra-nationalism angered Korea and China, and his desire to normalize Japan’s defensive posture angered many Japanese. Abe was unable to achieve his lofty goal of formally rewriting the US-drafted pacifist constitution due to poor public support.
Supporters of Abe said his legacy is a stronger US-Japan relationship that should strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities. But Abe also made enemies by pushing his defense goals and other contentious issues through Parliament despite strong public opposition.
Abe was a political blue-blood primed 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 bigger role in international affairs.
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