Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was killed in a shooting in the central Japanese city of Nara on Friday 7/8th.
Abe was shot twice while giving a speech on Friday morning. The 41-year-old attacker was arrested.
The suspect, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, who lives in Nara, used a hand-crafted weapon, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Local media reports say he is a former member of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Japanese equivalent of the Navy.
The Japan Fire and Disaster Agency confirmed that Abe had a gunshot wound to the right side of his neck and subcutaneous hemorrhage on the left side of his chest.
It is unclear whether both bullets hit him or if one of the bullets hit his neck and entered his body.
A leader of Abe’s party said in an interview with NHK that the 67-year-old’s condition was “worrying” and that he received a blood transfusion. The death at the hospital was later confirmed by NHK.
“Former Prime Minister Abe was shot at around 11:30 am local time in Nara (23:30 on Thursday night in Brazil). A man believed to be the shooter was arrested,” the government official said. government official Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters in the first official report.
“Whatever the reason, such barbaric behavior cannot be tolerated and we strongly condemn it.”
Eyewitnesses saw the gunman
Unverifiable videos circulating on social media show paramedics gathering around Abe in the middle of a street.
Abe was giving a campaign speech for a candidate in Nara at the time of the attack – eyewitnesses said they saw a man with a “big gun”.
After the shots, Abe immediately fell to the ground covered in blood. Security guards detained the attacker, who did not try to escape.
News broadcaster NHK said that at first, Abe was “aware and responsive” when he was taken to the hospital, according to law enforcement sources. The broadcaster said that the police confiscated the weapon and identified the attacker.
Abe’s speech was part of the Liberal Democrats’ campaign for this week’s upper house elections in Japan. According to media reports, ministers from all over the country were urged to return to Tokyo immediately after the bombing.
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes Analysis
BBC News correspondent in Japan
The first question many people ask themselves is: What gun was used and how did the shooter get it?
The answer seems to be self-build. Photos taken during the attacker’s arrest appear to be a makeshift or homemade double-barreled shotgun.
Gun violence is very rare in Japan. It is extremely difficult to obtain firearms. Political violence is also extremely rare.
Abe was accompanied by a security team. But it seems that the shooter managed to get within a few meters of the politician without any hindrance.
It is deeply shocking that such an important person was shot at in a country that prides itself on being safe.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, remained in power for a year in 2006 and then again from 2012 to 2020, before leaving for health reasons. He explained that he had suffered a relapse of ulcerative colitis, an intestinal disease.
He was known for his offensive defense and foreign policy, and he wanted to change Japan’s post-war pacifist constitution.
It also adopted an economic policy known as “Abenomics” based on monetary easing, fiscal stimulus and structural reforms.
He was succeeded by his close ally Yoshihide Suga, and was later replaced by current incumbent Fumio Kishida.
Gun violence is rare in Japan, where firearms are banned.
In 2014, there were only six cases of gunshot deaths in Japan, compared to 33,599 in the US. People have to pass rigorous mental health examinations and tests before they can buy a gun – and even then only shotguns and air rifles are allowed.
The event was quickly condemned around the world. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described the action as an “attack on the defenders of democracy”.
US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said Abe was “an excellent leader of Japan and an unwavering US ally”, adding that the US was “praying” for his well-being.
Text originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-62091237.
source: Noticias
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