Shinzo Abe shot dead: Latest updates after ex-Japanese prime minister assassinated
The world was shocked on Thursday evening when a rare shooting in Japan resulted in the death of the country’s longest-serving prime minister.
Shinzo Abe, 67, was speaking at a campaign event on Friday morning in Japan when someone fired at least two shots, striking the former leader of the country. First responders rushed Abe to Nara Medical University hospital, where he died just after 5 p.m. local time.
Early evidence suggests the gun used in the attack was homemade. Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. The country has outlawed all handguns and only allows for the sale of shotguns and air rifles.
Police have arrested a suspect but have not released details about a motivation for the attack. However, some reports suggest the man said he was frustrated with Abe and told police he wanted to kill him.
Follow along here for the latest updates and reactions to Abe’s death.
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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 67, was at a campaign rally when bullets suddenly struck his chest and near his neck, ultimately killing him.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, who was subsequently arrested and confessed to the shooting, had brandished what appears to have been a homemade gun during the assassination, police said, NHK reported. Yamagami reportedly told police he was frustrated with Abe and had planned to kill him.
“The suspect stated that he held a grudge against a particular organization, and that he committed the crime because he believed former Prime Minister Abe had a connection to it,” a police officer said, per the Hindustan Times.
Click here to read the full report.
As support and condolences from world leaders and their highest-level compatriots pour in, one country is expressing its sadness for the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe differently.
Besides expressing his “outrage and sadness” for Abe’s killing on Friday, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ordered his country to mourn for three days, according to Reuters.
Bolsonaro called Abe a “brilliant leader” and said his killing was an “unjustifiable cruelty” that needs to be punished.
Brazil has more Japanese residents than any other country outside Japan.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the voices of other U.S. and world leaders in praising the legacy left behind by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Blinken offered his “sincerest condolences” for Abe’s death and noted the former prime minister’s efforts to stand on the world stage as a leader of more than just his country.
“Prime Minister Abe was a global leader and unwavering ally and friend of the United States, whose vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific lifted our Alliance cooperation to new heights,” Blinken wrote in a statement. “We offer our thoughts to Prime Minister Abe’s family and the people of Japan. Together with them and the world, we mourn his passing.”
Doug and I send our deepest condolences to the family of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and the Japanese people. He was a close friend of the United States and on this tragic day, we stand with our Japanese friends in honoring him and condemning this horrific act of violence.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) July 8, 2022
Vice President Kamala Harris sent her “deepest condolences” to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s family on Friday.
Harris released a statement on Twitter, noting Abe’s close relationship with the United States and decrying the gun violence so rarely seen in Japan.
“He was a close friend of the United States and on this tragic day, we stand with our Japanese friends in honoring him and condemning this horrific act of violence,” she said.
Members of Congress expressed sympathy and shock over the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot Friday while giving a speech.
Abe was the longest-serving prime minister of Japan after World War II, and many American politicians have worked with him over the years. Lawmakers remembered him as a great leader who strengthened the relationship between the United States and Japan.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who was ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2019, fondly remembered his working relationship with “the greatest PM in modern Japanese history” and expressed condolences to his family.
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Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s legacy is one of impressive leadership and important friendship, according to Taiwan.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen released a statement following the former Japanese leader’s death on Friday praising Abe as an important leader and friend, according to Reuters.
“Not only has the international community lost an important leader, but Taiwan has also lost an important and close friend. Taiwan and Japan are both democratic countries with the rule of law, and our government severely condemns violent and illegal acts,” Tsai said in a statement released by her office.
Former President Barack Obama lamented the death of his “friend and longtime partner Shinzo Abe” in a statement Friday morning.
The former president, who worked closely with Abe during his second term in the White House, praised the former leader for his work as Japan’s prime minister.
“Former Prime Minister Abe was devoted to both the country he served and the extraordinary alliance between the United States and Japan,” Obama wrote. “I will always remember the work we did to strengthen our alliance, the moving experience of traveling to Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor together.”
Abe was shot at a campaign event Friday morning in Japan and later died of his wounds at a hospital. Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
NEW: Former Pres. Obama: “I am shocked and saddened by the assassination of my friend and longtime partner Shinzo Abe in Japan…Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan who are very much in our thoughts at this painful moment.” https://t.co/isOCMhmMZ3 pic.twitter.com/P1LC7Uum3u
— ABC News (@ABC) July 8, 2022
The White House said it was “shocked and saddened” to hear about the shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The Biden administration said its “thoughts are with his family and the people of Japan” following reports that Abe was shot and later died from his injuries in Nara, Japan.
“We are closely monitoring the reports and keeping our thoughts with his family and the people of Japan,” a White House spokesperson told CNN.
Top German officials expressed their sadness at the killing of Shinzo Abe on Friday morning.
The assassination of @AbeShinzo leaves me shocked and deeply saddened. My deepest sympathy goes to his family, my colleague Fumio @kishida230 and our Japanese friends. We stand closely by Japan’s side in these difficult hours.
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) July 8, 2022
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock took to Twitter to share their thoughts and solidarity with Japan as it deals with the unusual event of having a former leader killed.
“The assassination of [Shinzo Abe] leaves me shocked and deeply saddened,” Scholz wrote. “My deepest sympathy goes to his family, my colleague [Fumio Kishida] and our Japanese friends.”
I’m shocked by the news that Shinzō Abe was shot. My thoughts are with him and his family.
— Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock (@ABaerbock) July 8, 2022
Gun deaths are a rare occurrence in Japan. The country, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, has almost eliminated gun deaths as a result.
When former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot on Friday morning and later died at a hospital as a result of his wounds, the country and the world were shocked not only at the death of such a prominent figure, but in the way in which it happened.
Japan has tight laws that prevent private citizens from owning handguns, though licensed hunters are allowed to own rifles, according to Reuters.
All gun owners are required to take classes, pass a written test, and pass a background check as well as a mental health evaluation.
Outlawing handguns hasn’t eliminated gun deaths in the country, but it has pushed most shootings to the fringes of society, including people who are already engaging in illegal activity. Of the 10 shootings that happened in Japan in 2021, eight of them involved yakuza gangsters, according to the outlet. In those shootings, one person was killed and four were wounded.
In contrast, the United States has had more than 300 “mass shootings” this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Not all of those shootings have resulted in deaths, but in light of Abe’s killing, the different approaches to gun laws are stark.
The man police arrested on suspicions of shooting Abe appears to have used a homemade shotgun. The suspect is a former member of the Japanese military.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, Abe’s brother, declined to comment on reports about the suspect using a homemade weapon.
Former President Donald Trump offered his prayers to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his family after he was shot while giving a speech in Japan.
Trump’s statement was posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday. The relationship between the two world leaders emerged as one of the strongest bilateral friendships that Trump made during his presidency.
“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. 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 wrote in a statement.
Click here to read the full report.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot in the city of Nara, Japan.
Abe, 67, had been making a campaign speech at around 11 a.m. local time on Friday ahead of an election Sunday for the upper house of Japan’s parliament when he was shot, the Associated Press reported. An NHK reporter heard what sounded like two gunshots and saw Abe bleeding. He collapsed on a street while delivering a speech in the western prefecture. A video showed security guards rushing to him and people attempting to provide medical assistance.
Abe died at Nara Medical University hospital at 5:03 p.m. Japan time, where he was flown to for treatment after the shooting. Upon arrival, Abe showed no vital signs and had two gunshot wounds to his neck, damage to his heart, and internal bleeding, according to the doctor who treated him. Abe was pronounced dead after resuscitation efforts, including surgery and a blood transfusion, failed, according to his doctor.
Click here to read the full report.
