On Friday, Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in broad daylight. He was shot while delivering a speech on a street in Central Japan. Current Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the attack as an “absolutely unforgivable” incident.
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party reported that the former prime minister was pronounced dead at 5:30PM at the Nara Medical University. The doctors reported that he died from excessive bleeding as the bullet was “deep enough to reach his heart.”
Footage aired by national broadcaster NHK showed Abe standing on stage when a man in a gray shirt and brown trousers approached him from behind. The man drew something from his bag and fired. Two shots were heard. The suspect was tackled to the ground and was later arrested for attempted murder.
Local Japanese media identified the man as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagam. Numerous sources reported that he was a former member of the Japanese Navy, the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He held his post from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. Abe stepped down, reasoning health concerns but often remained in the public eye to discuss current affairs.