Japan’s Former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, Assassinated While Giving Speech
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Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving leader, was fatally shot while delivering a speech Thursday.
Abe was shot twice from behind by a suspect reportedly carrying what seemed to be a handmade gun while he was campaigning for a political candidate in Nara, Japan, according to Reuters. Handguns are illegal in Japan, which harbors some of the world’s strictest gun laws.
He was then transported to a hospital, but he had no vital signs upon arrival. He received 100 units of blood transfusions over four hours and died from bleeding to death about five and a half hours after being shot, according to the outlet.
Authorities tackled and detained the 41-year-old suspect, Nara resident Tetsuya Yamagami, at the scene, as he made no attempt to run, the BBC reported. Officials then searched his home and uncovered explosives, according to the outlet.
Yamagami is a former member of the Japanese maritime self-defense force, and told police he was “dissatisfied with former Prime Minister Abe and aimed to kill him,” according to the BBC.
Sixty-seven-year-old Abe served as prime minister between 2006 and 2007 and again starting in 2012, stepping down in 2020, citing health issues. He later said that he had an intestinal disease, suffering from a relapse of ulcerative colitis.
Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida called the attack “despicable” and “unforgivable,” and pledged to “respond appropriately.”
“It is a despicable act that took place in the middle of an election, the very essence of democracy, and is entirely unforgivable in my eyes. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” Kishida said.
Former president Donald Trump said Abe was his, and America’s, “true friend,” in response to the assassination. Abe was the first foreign world leader to visit Trump in the White House.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also responded to Abe’s assassination, calling it “profoundly disturbing.”
“This is shocking. It’s profoundly disturbing. It’s also such a strong personal loss for so many people. In the United States, Prime Minister Abe was an extraordinary partner. And someone who clearly was a great leader for Japan,” Blinken said.
