Abe suffered cardiopulmonary arrest at the scene of the shooting and was rushed to hospital in cardiac arrest at 12:20pm local time, doctors said. During the operation, doctors discovered a bullet wound in his neck and a large wound in his heart. The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, who was detained at the scene, admitted to shooting Abe, according to Nara Nishi police. Abe, 67, was the former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, serving from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020 before stepping down for health reasons. Since his resignation, he has remained in the public eye and regularly appeared in the media to discuss current affairs. At the time of the shooting, Abe was giving a speech in support of LDP candidates in the city of Nara ahead of the upcoming upper house election scheduled for Sunday. Video broadcast by public broadcaster NHK captured the moments before the shooting, showing Abe speaking to a small crowd in front of Yamatosaidaiji train station. In subsequent videos, two gunshots can be heard and smoke can be seen in the air. Pictures from the scene showed people gathered around the former leader as he lay in the street, blood stains on his white shirt. An official with the Nara City Fire Department told CNN earlier Friday that Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, a term used to describe the sudden loss of heart function and breathing. He was rushed to hospital by helicopter, where doctors began frantic efforts to keep him alive. But Abe’s heart had stopped beating when he arrived at the hospital, doctors said. The former chief had two bullet wounds, one to the front of the neck and a large wound to the heart, they said. But the doctors could not determine the trajectory of the bullet. During the operation, doctors tried to stop the bleeding and Abe died from blood loss. “We took resuscitation measures, but (Abe) unfortunately died,” Hidenori Fukushima, a professor at Nara Medical University, told a news conference. Yamagami, who appeared to have used an improvised weapon in the attack, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, according to NHK. He was detained for questioning at the Nara Nishi Police Station. During a press conference on Friday, Nara Nishi police said the 41-year-old suspect, who is unemployed, harbors hatred for a certain group he thought Abe was associated with. Police raided the suspect’s apartment at 5:17 p.m. local time, where they seized several handgun-like items, police said. Yamagami is being investigated as a suspect in a murder case to which 90 investigators have been assigned, police added. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his “heartfelt condolences” to former leader Abe, saying he “was a personal friend, with whom (he spent) a lot of time.” Kishida said he had “great respect for the legacy (Abe) left behind” and would continue campaigning on Saturday, adding that a free and fair election must be defended at all costs. News of Abe’s shooting and death shocked leaders around the world, many of whom had worked with Abe during his long tenure. US President Joe Biden said he was “surprised, outraged and deeply saddened”, adding that he had worked closely with Abe and that his killing was “a tragedy for Japan and everyone who knew him”. “While there are many details we do not yet know, we do know that violent attacks are never acceptable and that gun violence always leaves a deep wound in the communities affected by it. The United States stands with Japan in this time of grief.” , Biden said in a statement. “Abe has been one of Australia’s closest friends on the world stage,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted, adding that Abe was “a leader in the Indo-Pacific, championing a vision of a free and open region.” Abe’s legacy includes a major Asia-Pacific trade partnership, known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Quadrilateral, Albanese added, saying both were shaped by his diplomatic leadership. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will observe a day of national mourning on Saturday. Abe was “a towering world statesman, an outstanding leader and a remarkable administrator,” Modi said, adding that his relationship with Abe “goes back many years.” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called Abe’s death “in itself deeply troubling, it is also such a powerful personal loss for so many people”. He added that the former prime minister “was an excellent partner” of the United States who took the relationship between the two countries “to new heights” during his tenure. European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Abe “a wonderful person, a great democrat and a champion of the multilateral world order” in a tweet on Friday. “I mourn with his family, his friends and all the people of Japan. This brutal and cowardly killing of Shinzo Abe shocks the whole world,” he said. After Abe was shot, but before his death was confirmed, China’s foreign ministry sent its condolences to Abe’s family. “We are monitoring developments and hope that former Prime Minister Abe will be out of danger and recover soon. We would certainly like to send our regards to his family,” ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a press conference on Friday evening.
Japan’s low gun crime
Abe’s killing has shocked Japan, which has one of the lowest gun crime rates in the world due to extremely strict gun control laws. In 2018, Japan reported nine gun deaths, compared to 39,740 that year in the United States. Under Japan’s firearms laws, the only weapons allowed for sale are shotguns and air rifles – revolvers are illegal. But getting them is a long and complicated process. Nancy Snow, Japan director of the International Industrial Security Council, told CNN that Friday’s shooting will change the country “forever.” “It’s not only rare, but it’s really culturally inscrutable,” Snow said. “The Japanese people cannot imagine having a gun culture like we have in the United States. This is a moment beyond words. I truly feel speechless. I pray for the best for the former prime minister.” CNN’s Irene Nasser, Mayumi Maruyama, Jessie Yeung and Jake Kwon contributed to the report.
