Japanese Former Leader Shinzo Abe dies today after being shot at campaign event
Abe, 67, was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He was shot while giving a speech in the western city of Nara ahead of an election for the upper house of Parliament.
Shuzo Abe was a towering political presence even after he stepped down as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, and he was campaigning ahead of elections scheduled for Sunday. He had just begun a speech in the western city of Nara, near Kyoto, when gunfire was heard around 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Thursday ET).
Officials said that one person had been apprehended in relation to the shooting.
Abe was rushed to Nara Medical University Hospital after suffering cardio and pulmonary arrest. The hospital announced his death shortly after 5 a.m. ET.
Dr. Hidetada Fukushima, a professor of emergency medicine at the hospital, said Abe had two gunshot wounds and no vital signs when he arrived less than an hour after the shooting. Life-saving measures including blood transfusions were unsuccessful, he said, and Abe was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m. ET.
Addressing reporters later, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Abe had been killed in “a despicable and barbaric manner.”
“I had been praying that he would somehow survive this, but our prayers were in vain, and to be receiving this news — I just have no words, only that I would like to offer my deepest condolences,” Kishida said, his eyes red and teary.
Kishida said campaigning in the election for the upper house of Parliament would continue on Saturday. Abe, who stepped down in 2020, was campaigning for other members of the governing conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) but was not a candidate himself.
“I believe that free and fair elections, which are the foundation of democracy, must absolutely be upheld,” Kishida said.
Photos from the scene showed Abe collapsed on the street with blood visible on his shirt, surrounded by security.
Abe dominated Japanese politics for the best part of a decade and has remained politically active since his resignation, leading the biggest faction in his party.
The incident sent shockwaves through Japan, where gun violence is extremely rare. Handguns are banned in the country and people must undergo extensive tests, training and background checks to obtain and keep shotguns and air rifles.
Iwao Horii, an LDP member of the upper house representing Nara, was standing next to Abe when the former prime minister was shot. “We heard two loud sounds while he was talking and he fell immediately after that,” Horii said at a news conference. He added that Abe was unresponsive when emergency medics tried to resuscitate him.
“This is something that shakes the very foundations of democracy and cannot be forgiven,” he said.
The shooting was also condemned by the country’s main opposition party, the center-left Constitutional Democrats, with party leader Kenta Izumi calling it “an act of terrorism.”
The attack in Nara, western Japan, was stunning for one of the world’s safest countries.
Messages of shock and well-wishes for Abe poured in from leaders around the world on Friday.
The U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, said that he was shocked and saddened by news of the shooting.
“Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and unwavering ally of the United States,” Emanuel said in a statement Friday.
The White House also expressed shock at Abe’s shooting.
“We are closely monitoring the reports and keeping our thoughts with his family and the people of Japan,” a spokesperson said prior to news of his death.
Similar sentiments of disbelief were echoed by leaders in the Asia-Pacific region, where Abe forged close and long-lasting ties.
“Deeply distressed by the attack on my dear friend Abe Shinzo. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family, and the people of Japan,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.
“He was deeply committed to his role, and also generous and kind,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said during a meeting in Sydney, Australia. “My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Japan. Events like this shake us all to the core.”
Though Abe had been praised for amplifying Japan’s profile on the world stage, his party was plagued by scandals and he was accused of mishandling the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Abe was the first foreign leader to meet with Donald Trump after he became U.S. president-elect in November 2016.
In a post to his Truth Social platform late Thursday, the former president called Abe “a truly great man and leader.”
“He was a true friend of mine and, much more importantly, America,” Trump said.
Abe hailed from Japan’s political elite and as prime minister had made reviving economic growth through his “Abenomics” policies a key pillar of his time in office.
Abe’s resignation two years ago came amid a worsening of his ulcerative colitis, a chronic bowel condition he’d battled for years.
He announced his resignation days after he set a record as Japan’s longest-lasting prime minister, having been in office for almost eight years. He previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2007.
Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.
