Former Japan PM Shinzo Abe shot at in Nara; Suspect in custody

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Tokyo,
July
08:
Former
Japan
Prime
Minister
Shinzo
Abe
was
unconscious
and
unresponsive
after
he
was
shot
at
in
western
Japan
during
during
a
political
event,
according
to
media
reports
from
Japan-based
media
house
NHK.
Abe
is
showing
no
vital
signs
after
the
attack,
news
agency
AFP
reported
citing
local
media.

The
broadcaster
aired
footage
showing
Abe
collapsed
on
the
street,
with
several
security
guards
running
toward
him.

Abe
was
holding
his
chest
when
he
collapsed,
with
his
shirt
smeared
with
blood.
NHK
says
Abe
was
rushed
to
a
hospital.
“A
local
fire
department
says
former
prime
minister
Abe
appears
to
be
in
a
state
of
cardio-respiratory
arrest,”
public
broadcaster
NHK
said,
a
term
used
in
Japan
before
a
feared
death
can
be
confirmed
by
a
doctor.

Witnesses
reported
hearing
gunshots
in
the
apparent
attack
in
Nara.
He
was
standing
while
making
an
election
campaign
speech
ahead
of
Sunday’s
election
for
the
parliament’s
upper
house.
Police
captured
a
male
suspect
at
the
scene,
public
broadcaster
NHK
said.

According
to
reports,
he
was
attacked
by
a
man
with
a
shotgun
from
the
behind
while
he
was
making
a
stump
speech
on
a
street.

In
a
visual
shared
by
DD
News,
a
crowd
could
be
seen
in
Nara,
at
the
spot
where
Abe
was
shot.

Former
Japanese
PM

#ShinzoAbe
collapsed
during
a
speech
in
the
city
of
Nara,
in
western
Japan

pic.twitter.com/5b7RjX35jd

—
DD
News
(@DDNewslive)

July
8,
2022

In
August
2020,
Abe
announced
his
resignation
because
of
poor
health,
ending
a
stint
at
the
helm
of
the
world’s
third-biggest
economy.

“I
have
decided
that
I
will
step
down
as
prime
minister,
with
the
belief
that
I
cannot
continue
being
prime
minister
if
I
do
not
have
the
confidence
that
I
can
carry
out
the
job
entrusted
to
me
by
the
people,”
Abe
told
a
news
conference.

Born
on
21
September
1954,
Abe
is
a
politician
who
served
as
Prime
Minister
of
Japan
and
President
of
the
Liberal
Democratic
Party
(LDP)
from
2006
to
2007
and
again
from
2012
to
2020.

He
is
the
longest-serving
prime
minister
in
Japanese
history.

Abe
also
served
as
Chief
Cabinet
Secretary
from
2005
to
2006
under
Junichiro
Koizumi
and
was
briefly
leader
of
the
opposition
in
2012.