Sixty-seven-year-old died following shooting in Nara in western Japan, and a suspect has been detained
Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot while giving a speech in the western city of Nara on Friday.
Abe appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest when he was airlifted to hospital after the shooting. Emergency services said he had been wounded on the right side of his neck and left clavicle.
Police arrested a 42-year-old man at the scene. He has been named as Tetsuya Yamagami, from Nara. He is a former member of the maritime self-defence force, according to Fuji TV. He reportedly left the force in 2005.
Media reports quoted police as saying that the weapon thought to have been used in the attack was homemade. Japan’s gun-ownership restrictions do not allow private citizens to have handguns, and licensed hunters may own only rifles.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, had been in Nara giving a campaign speech ahead of this Sunday’s upper house elections when he was shot. All parties suspended campaigning after the shooting.
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