PHTOKYO: Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has died of his injuries after he was shot on Friday (Jul 8).
No vital signs were detected upon his arrival in the hospital, and doctors tried to resuscitate him, a hospital spokesperson said. The former prime minister died at about 5pm local time.
Abe, 67, had been delivering a stump speech near a train station in the western city of Nara when he was shot by an assailant at around 11.30am.
Footage broadcast by NHK showed Abe standing on a stage when a loud blast was heard with smoke visible in the air.
He collapsed after being shot and was rushed to hospital. A fire department official had earlier said Abe appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest.
Police said a 41-year-old man suspected of carrying out the shooting was arrested. NHK quoted the suspect, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, as telling police he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him.
It was the first assassination of a sitting or former Japanese premier since the days of prewar militarism in the 1930s.
Police said the suspected shooter was a resident of Nara. The gun used in the shooting appeared to be a homemade firearm, NHK said earlier.
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