On Friday morning, Japan’s former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, was shot during an election speech. Abe was addressing an election meeting in Nara town when the horrendous incident happened. The occurrence occurred just ahead of Sunday’s poling for the Upper House of the Parliament.
The former PM was shot in the heart, according to the reports. Immediately after that he was airlifted from the location and admitted to a hospital. In the aired footage, it can be seen that Abe fell on the street while many security guards ran toward him.
With his shirt covered with blood, the ex-PM was holding his chest when he collapsed. Leaders from the world have expressed their shock at the news and concern over the attack on a .major leader. The local media reported that a man was arrested for the attempted murder of the former Prime Minister of Japan.
The public broadcaster NHK said, citing police sources, that the man seemed to be in his 40s, and a gun was impounded from him. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, held office in 2006 for one year and served again from 2012 to 2020.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters at the press conference that Mr Abe was in a “very grave situation”. “It is barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated,” added PM Kishida. The attack has come as a big shock for everyone as Japan has some of the firmest gun laws and is popularly considered one of the safest countries in the world.
