Local fire official Makoto Morimoto said Abe suffered cardiopulmonary arrest, or CPA, meaning he was not breathing and his heart had stopped, even as he was airlifted to hospital. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that police arrested a male suspect at the scene of the attack. “A barbaric act like this is absolutely inexcusable, regardless of the reasons, and we strongly condemn it,” Matsuno said. Police officers at the scene where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot during a political event in Nara, Japan, July 8, 2022. Kosuke Okahara/Bloomberg/Getty Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who belongs to the same political party as Abe, returned to Tokyo by helicopter from his own campaign destination of Yamagata in northern Japan. He told reporters earlier that he “didn’t know the motivation and background behind this attack, but this attack is an act of brutality that happened during an election – the very foundation of our democracy – and it is absolutely inexcusable.”
NHK which broadcast the video of Abe collapsed in the street with several security guards running towards him. He was reportedly shot minutes after he began speaking outside a train station in western Nara. In videos posted on social media, at least two apparent gunshots can be heard as a man resembling Abe speaks and a white plume of smoke can be seen behind the former prime minister. According to Japan’s Kyodo news agency, Abe suffered gunshot wounds to his neck and chest, but doctors at the hospital where he was treated later said it was two wounds to the neck that claimed his life. Then-Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, August 28, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. FRANCK ROBICHON/POOL/Getty NHK, citing multiple military sources, said the suspect had worked for three years in Japan’s Naval Self-Defense Force until 2005. The network described the weapon used in the attack as improvised. Police said the suspect had told them he was unhappy with Abe and wanted to kill him. Other videos posted online showed campaign officials surrounding Abe in an apparent attempt to confront the popular former leader, who remained influential in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and head of its largest faction, the Seiwakai. Elections for Japan’s Upper House, the least powerful chamber of its parliament, are on Sunday. The attack came as a shock in a country that is among the safest in the world and has some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere. Japan has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and the lowest rates of gun violence 02:36 In a statement provided to CBS News, a White House spokesman said the Biden administration was “shocked and saddened to hear of the violent attack against former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe” and added that officials were “closely monitoring the reports and keeping the our thoughts. his family and the people of Japan.” During a visit to Indonesia, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters that Abe’s killing was “deeply troubling”. Blinken said he shared “the very deepest condolences of the United States” with his Japanese counterpart during a meeting in Indonesia.
“This is shocking,” said the top US diplomat. “It’s deeply troubling in itself. It’s also such a powerful personal loss for so many people. For the United States, Prime Minister Abe was a great partner and someone who was clearly a great leader.” He credited Abe with taking US-Japan relations “to new heights” during his tenure and called him “a leader with a great vision” and “an incredible ability to work towards that vision.” One of the first world leaders to offer condolences after Abe’s death was India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called the slain Japanese politician one of his “dearest friends” and a “tall statesman.” I am shocked and saddened beyond words at the tragic loss of one of my dearest friends, Shinzo Abe. He was a towering world statesman, an outstanding leader and a remarkable administrator. He dedicated his life to making Japan and the world a better place. – Narendra Modi (@arenarendramodi) July 8, 2022 Abe, 67, was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He resigned in September 2020 due to health issues. Abe said at the time that he was suffering from a relapse of the ulcerative colitis that led to the end of his first term in 2007. He told reporters it was “intestinal” to leave many of his goals unfinished and spoke of his failure to resolve the Japanese question that were abducted years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia and a revision of Japan’s war-renouncing constitution. That last goal was a big reason he was such a divisive figure. His ultra-nationalism angered Korea and China, and his push to normalize Japan’s defense posture angered many Japanese. Abe failed to achieve his cherished goal of formally rewriting the US-drafted pacifist constitution due to poor public support. Abe’s supporters said his legacy was a stronger US-Japan relationship meant to boost Japan’s defense capability. But Abe has also made enemies by pushing his defense goals and other contentious issues through parliament, despite strong public opposition. Abe was a blue-blood politician groomed to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi. His political rhetoric often focused on making Japan a “normal” and “beautiful” nation with a stronger military and a greater role in international affairs.