Japan's former PM Shinzo Abe shot dead while giving campaign speech

Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot during a campaign speech in western Japan.

A gunman opened fire at close range as the hugely influential politician delivered his speech on Friday, in an assassination that stunned the nation and prompted an international outpouring of grief and condemnation.

The murder of the 67-year-old was all the more shocking given Japan's strict gun laws and low rates of violent crime, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida describing it as a "barbaric act" that was "absolutely unforgivable".

Abe, who had been Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was shot shortly before noon while campaigning in the western region of Nara ahead of weekend upper house elections.

He was flown by helicopter to the Nara Medical University hospital where he was pronounced dead several hours later.

Two gunshot wounds

"Shinzo Abe was transported to (the hospital) at 12:20 pm. He was in a state of cardiac arrest upon arrival," said Hidetada Fukushima, professor of emergency medicine at the hospital.

"Resuscitation was administered. However, unfortunately he died at 5:03 pm."

Fukushima said Abe had suffered two gunshot wounds to the neck and died of massive blood loss, despite being administered enormous transfusions.

Footage broadcast by NHK showed Abe was standing on a stage when a man dressed in a grey shirt and brown trousers approached from behind, before drawing a weapon from a bag and firing.

At least two shots appear to be fired, each producing a cloud of smoke. As spectators and reporters ducked, a man was shown being tackled to the ground by security and he was arrested.

Local media identified the man as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, citing police sources, with several media outlets describing him as a former member of the Maritime Self-Defence Force, the country's navy.

He was wielding a weapon described by local media as a "handmade gun", and NHK said he told police after his arrest that he "targeted Abe with the intention of killing him".

Political legacy 

Officials from the local chapter of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party said there had been no threats before the incident and that his speech had been announced publicly.

Abe held office in 2006 for one year and again from 2012 to 2020, when he was forced to step down due to the debilitating bowel condition ulcerative colitis.

He was a hawkish conservative who pushed for the revision of Japan's pacifist constitution to recognise the country's military and has stayed a prominent political figure even after his resignation.