Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died on Friday, July 8. After an assassination attempt was made on him.
This was reported by NHK.
"Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed away. He was shot and killed during a speech on Friday in the city of Nara, near Kyoto," the report said.
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was giving a speech when he was shot in the back by an unknown assailant during the speech.
This was reported by Kyodo.
Abe reportedly lost consciousness after being shot twice. The former leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party was speaking as part of the campaign for the House of Councillors election scheduled for Sunday.
He fell to the ground after the shots were fired and was taken to the hospital by air ambulance.
Police officers apprehended the assailant at the scene. The shooter turned out to be a 40-year-old resident of Nara.
Note that Shinzo Abe was prime minister of Japan for a record long period - more than 2,800 days. In August 2020, he unexpectedly announced that he was retiring for health reasons. He had already left office in 2007 for health reasons, but was able to return when the illness receded. Abe first took over the Japanese Cabinet in September 2006.
Earlier it was reported that Japan imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus for the invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions list included 57 Russian citizens and six companies.