According to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in critical condition after he was shot on Friday morning while giving a lecture in western Japan.
He was seen bleeding out on the ground in Nara, near Kyoto. He sustained a gunshot wound to the right neck and left chest, according to the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
For eight years beginning in 2012, Shinzo Abe was Japan’s prime minister, a third-generation nationalist leader who worked to rebuild the country’s stagnating economy and regain some of the country’s militarist pride.
His two stints as prime minister were marked by opposition to his calls for a more robust armed forces and a revision of a post-World War II pacifist article in the country’s constitution. After a return of ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition, he stepped down in 2020.
How Was Shinzo Abe Shot Dead?
Shinzo Abe while giving a speech in the southern city of Nara, was shot twice by a gunman. He sustained a gunshot wound to the right neck and left chest, according to the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
According to the police, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was detained on suspicion of attempted murder. According to a police spokesman, the suspect had utilized “gunlike equipment” that was found on the scene.
