Shinzo Abe obit

Japan Ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Dies from Gunshot Wounds

 

 He was not on the list.

Japan’s international news service NHK reported early Friday that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died. He was shot during a speech on Friday in the city of Nara, near Kyoto.

He was shot on the street in Nara City, western Japan, at around 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The former leader was campaigning for the upcoming Upper House election. He was 67.

Sources from Abe’s NDP party were cited as the basis for the report.

“Shinzo Abe was transported to (the hospital) at 12:20pm. He was in a state of cardiac arrest upon arrival. Resuscitation was administered. However, unfortunately he died at 5:03 pm,” said Professor Hidetada Fukushima at Nara Medical University hospital, according to AFP.

Here is  earlier coverage on the hours after the incident:

The younger brother of former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo early Friday morning the former leader is receiving a blood transfusion in hospital as his condition remains “very grave.”

Nobuo Kishi, who serves as defence minister in the Japanese government, added the attack is an inexcusable act no matter the motivations of the assailant.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving premier, was shot in the neck and chest and has suffered significant internal bleeding, as Breitbart News reported.

Abe collapsed in the western Japanese city of Nara around 11:30 a.m Friday, according to local news outlet NHK. A NHK correspondent reportedly heard two gunshot sounds and saw Abe collapse while bleeding from his chest.

The shooting has shocked a nation where gun violence is rare.

In Tokyo, people stopped on the street to grab extra editions of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper or watch TV coverage of the shooting.

Before he was shot, Shinzo Abe had been campaigning for his former party ahead of Sunday’s legislative elections.

In an emotional press conference a few hours later, prime minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that Abe was in a “very grave condition,” the BBC reports.

“Currently doctors are doing everything they can,” said Kishida who appeared to be holding back tears, adding that he was “praying from his heart” that Mr Abe would survive.

He also condemned the attack, saying: “It is barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump publicly honored ex-Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday morning, saluting their long friendship in the hours leading up to the late leader’s death.

Trump described his shock at the shooting which later claimed Abe’s life, as Breitbart News reported.

 

“Absolutely devastating news that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, a truly great man and leader, has been shot, and is in very serious condition,” Trump said in a statement.

“He was a true friend of mine and, much more importantly, America. This is a tremendous blow to the wonderful people of Japan, who loved and admired him so much. We are all praying for Shinzo and his beautiful family!

Trump and Abe met several times while both men were in office and kept up the key alliance between Japan and the U.S. in the face of increasing regional activity by China.

President Joe Biden reacted to the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on Friday, using his death to again condemn “gun violence.”

“While there are many details that we do not yet know, we know that violent attacks are never acceptable and that gun violence always leaves a deep scar on the communities that are affected by it,” Biden said in his statement.

The president was late to react to the news of Abe’s assassination, issuing a statement just before 9:00 a.m. EST.

“I am stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened by the news that my friend Abe Shinzo, former Prime Minister of Japan, was shot and killed while campaigning,” Biden said in his statement.

The president also expressed sadness that Abe was “engaged in the work of democracy” when he was shot and killed.