Japan’s former PM Shinzo Abe assassinated

Tokyo: Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, died after being shot on Friday while giving a campaign speech.

He was shot in the chest and near the neck by a man who approached him from behind as he spoke in the city of Nara.

According to the BBC, Abe, 67, immediately collapsed after being shot in the neck and was rushed to a hospital.

He was pronounced dead about five hours later at 5 pm local time. The suspected attacker – reported to be a male in his 40s – was tackled at the scene and arrested

Mr. Abe was the de facto leader of the largest faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and wielded strong influence in the government despite standing down as prime minister in September 2020.

The man who is suspected to have carried out the shooting has been identified by Japanese media as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, a resident of Nara city.

He is reported to be a former member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force, the country’s navy, but the defence ministry has not officially confirmed this.