The 67-year-old was shot during an election campaign and taken to the hospital with serious injuries. / Shinzo Abe dies
The former Japanese prime minister has died as a result of injuries sustained in an attack. This was reported by the Japanese news channel NHK. The hospital said a press conference would be held shortly.
Shinzo Abe dies
Fire was opened on the 67-year-old while he was delivering a campaign speech in Nara around 11:30 a.m. local time. The suspected shooter shot the former prime minister from behind. He is said to have hit him at least twice – once in the neck and in the chest.
After the assassination, the media reported that Abe was unconscious and was not breathing. Apparently he had suffered cardiac arrest.
Perpetrators probably belonged to the military in the past
The suspected shooter was arrested, according to government sources. According to ARD correspondent Ulrich Mendgen, he is said to be a 41-year-old man who was a member of the Japanese armed forces years ago. This is an indication that the suspect knew how to use weapons, Mendgen continued. It is still unclear what type of weapon it is. An “object wrapped with tape” is shown on Japanese television. The weapon could have been manipulated or even self-made.
The shooter’s possible motive is still unclear, Mendgen said. When he was arrested, he stated that he was “dissatisfied” with Abe and “wanted to kill him on purpose”.
Longest in office as prime minister
Abe ruled Japan from December 2012 to September 2020. Under him, Japan had moved significantly to the right.
Abe was among the staunch advocates of a revision of the post-war pacifist constitution. In Article 9 of the Constitution, Japan “forever renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes”.
After assassination: Japanese ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is dead
The 67-year-old was shot during a campaign speech. Now Shinzo Abe has died in the hospital.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been shot dead. The 67-year-old was assassinated in the Japanese city of Nara on Friday. The suspect is a 41-year-old Japanese man who was arrested at the scene. According to media reports, the man fired twice at the former prime minister with a home-made gun. The right-wing conservative politician then collapsed, bleeding from the left chest and neck.
The two shots can be heard on video recordings by reporters. Dramatic scenes took place at the crime scene. Helpers performed initial heart massages on Abe, who was lying on the street, before he was taken to a hospital. The politician is said to have been conscious on the way to the hospital.
According to Japanese media, Abe was hit twice in the upper body and suffered cardiac arrest. He was transferred to a hospital by helicopter.
Suspect ‘dissatisfied’ with Abe / Shinzo Abe dies
The attack is said to have been carried out by an ex-member of the country’s self-defense force. This is reported by the broadcaster NHK, citing sources in the Ministry of Defense. The Japanese arrested at the scene of the crime was a member of the country’s navy for three years until 2005.
He was “dissatisfied” with Abe and wanted to “kill” him, the man was quoted as saying by the NHK TV station after his arrest. According to other reports, he said he had “no grudges against Abe’s political beliefs”.
Worldwide horror
The act caused outrage around the world. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the attack as a “barbaric act”. The act was “completely unforgivable”. He had previously canceled an election campaign in northern Yamagata Prefecture and returned to his Tokyo headquarters by helicopter.
“It is an attack on parliamentary democracy and cannot be tolerated,” said House Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed their horror at the crime. “My thoughts are with him and his family,” Baerbock tweeted. “France stands by the side of the Japanese people,” Macron said.
Longest-serving prime minister of Japan / Shinzo Abe dies
Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. From 2012 to 2020, Abe implemented numerous reforms that became known under the catchphrase “Abenomics”. Through this active economic promotion from loose monetary policy, high government spending and reforms, he succeeded in boosting the economy.
In 2020 he resigned for health reasons, but remained a formative force in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Japan votes on Sunday / Shinzo Abe dies
Elections to the House of Lords will take place in Japan on Sunday. The LDP is expected to win a landslide victory. This could gain momentum in the debate about amending the constitution. The island kingdom of Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world and is considered one of the safest countries in the world.
Abe is one of the staunch advocates of a revision of the pacifist post-war constitution. In Article 9 of the Constitution, Japan “forever renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes”.
Huge victory expected for Abe party
Abe believes that Japan’s constitution is not that of an independent nation, having been imposed in 1946 by the occupying United States. His LDP party is expected to win a landslide victory in the upper house elections, after which the debate on amending the constitution could gain momentum.
Economically, Abe wanted to lead Japan out of decades of deflation and stagnation with his “Abenomics” economic policy of cheap money, debt-financed economic stimulus injections and the promise of structural reforms. Admittedly, the number three in the global economy has meanwhile experienced the longest growth phase in years under Abe. He also boosted tourism, which brought a lot of money into the country before the corona pandemic.
At the same time, however, “Abenomics” has meant that profits have been distributed unequally in recent years, critics have complained. A third of all employees are without permanent employment.
