WORLD
Former PM Shinzo Abe in critical condition after assassination attempt
Baku, July 8, AZERTAC
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe- one of the most consequential leaders in Japan’s postwar history, was shot in the chest while he was making a stump speech on a street in the city of Nara on Friday in what appears to be an assassination attempt, according to the Japan times. He is reportedly in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest.
He was unconscious when he was rushed to a hospital and was bleeding from the chest. The police have arrested the man suspected of attacking Abe.
Videos of the incident published on social media showed two shots being fired.
Abe was giving a speech in front of the Yamato Saidaiji Station when he was attacked at around 11:30 a.m. High school students who witnessed the shooting told NHK that a man came up from behind and fired two shots.
Abe was transported via a medical helicopter to Nara Medical University in the city of Kashihara, south of central Nara, according to NHK, who quoted ambulance officials.
The man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and the gun was confiscated, according to the broadcaster. NHK identified the man as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old resident of the city of Nara.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was in Yamagata Prefecture to give a speech for a candidate belonging to his Liberal Democratic Party ahead of Sunday’s Upper House election, has flown back to Tokyo. All ministers, many of whom were outside Tokyo due to the election campaign, were also called back, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.