Japan's Ex-PM Shinzo Abe Succumbs To Shotgun Blast

Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, died after being shot twice at a campaign address in the country's south earlier today, local media reported in the afternoon of July 8, 2022, Chris Pleasance for UK's MailOnline and Andrea Cavallier for DailyMail.com.

Photo Insert: The gun used in the shooting appeared to be a homemade firearm, NHK said.

The 67-year-old, who had served for a total of nine years during two terms, was assassinated in Nara about 11.30 a.m. as he campaigned for the local candidate ahead of Sunday's legislative elections. His death was revealed six hours later by state broadcaster NHK, shortly after wife Akie arrived at his bedside.

According to the Associated Press (AP), Nara Medical University emergency department chief Hidetada Fukushima said Abe sustained serious heart damage, as well as two neck wounds that damaged an artery. Fukushima stated that he never regained his vital signs.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, a former member of Japan's navy, was arrested at the shooting scene in Nara on suspicion of murder. Police said he used a handmade gun approximately 15 inches (40 centimeters) long, and they confiscated similar weapons as well as his personal computer when they raided his neighboring one-room flat.

Yamagami told authorities he planned to assassinate Abe because he believed allegations about the ex-leader's ties to a certain organization that police were unable to identify.

NHK broadcasted a dramatic video of Abe standing and speaking outside a train station in Nara before Sunday's parliamentary election.

Two bullets rang out as he lifted his hand to make a point, and he dropped, grasping his chest, his shirt splattered with blood as security personnel hurried toward him. Guards then jumped on the gunman, who was lying face down on the pavement, and a double-barreled firearm was seen nearby, according to Reuters.

Political violence is rare in Japan, a country with strict gun regulations. The gun used in the shooting appeared to be a homemade firearm, NHK said.

In 2007, Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh was shot and killed by a yakuza gangster. In 1960, the head of the Japanese Socialist Party was assassinated during a speech by a right-wing youth using a samurai short sword.

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