One of Japan's most divisive figures, former Prime Minister Abe, was shot and critically wounded during a campaign speech. His heart stopped as he was flown to a hospital.
Japan is one of the safest countries in the world and has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes Abe will survive. He called the shootingdastardly and barbaric after returning to Tokyo from campaign events around the country.
Kishida told reporters at his office that he was praying for the survival of Abe.
The local fire department official said that Abe was in cardiopulmonary arrest as he was flown to the hospital.
NHK broadcasted a video of Abe giving a speech outside of a train station. A man in a navy blue suit raises his fist when a gunshot is heard. Security guards ran towards Abe after he collapsed. He is holding his shirt with blood on it.
A security guard jumps on top of a man who is lying on the pavement. There is a device on the ground that looks like a gun.
Yamagami was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The suspect was a member of the Maritime Self- Defense Force for three years.
There were other clips from the scene showing campaign officials. The former leader is still influential in the party. The lower house of Japan's parliament is up for election on Sunday.
As he struggled to control his emotions, Kishida said that he used the "hardest words to condemn" the act. He said that Abe had the highest level of protection.
The attack on Abe was denounced as a challenge to Japan's democracy by opposition leaders. People stopped on the street to get extra editions of the newspaper or watch the shooting on TV.
When he stepped down as prime minister, Abe said he had a new case of ulcerative colitis.
He told reporters that leaving many of his goals unfinished was heartbreaking. The issue of Japanese abduction by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia, and a revision of Japan's war-renouncing constitution were all discussed by him.
He was a divisive figure because of that final goal.
His push to create what he thought was a more normal defense posture angered many Japanese. Poor public support made it difficult for Abe to rewrite the U.S.-drafted constitution.
Loyalists said that his legacy was a stronger relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Despite strong public opposition, Abe was able to force his defense goals through parliament.
The grandson of a former Prime Minister was groomed to follow in his footsteps. Making Japan a "normal" and "beautiful" nation with a bigger role in international affairs was the focus of his political rhetoric.
Foreign officials were shocked by the shooting.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry was shocked by the sudden incident. We are following the developments of the situation and hope that former Prime Minister Abe will recover quickly.
"Our thoughts are with him, with his family, with the people of Japan," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said while attending a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting.
While leader of the Japan-U.S. security alliance, Abe shepherded the first visit by a U.S. president to a city devastated by a World War II atomic bomb. He helped Tokyo win the right to host the 2020 Olympics by promising that the disaster at the nuclear plant would be under control when it wasn't.
Abe became Japan's youngest prime minister in 2006 at the age of 52 but his first stint ended a year later because of his health.
The end of Abe's scandal-laden first stint as prime minister was remembered as an era of "revolving door" politics that lacked stability and long-term policies.
When Abe returned to office in 2012 he promised to revive the nation and get its economy out of deflation with his "Abenomics" formula.
He built a rock-solid grip on power, bolstering Japan's defense role and capability, and raising Japan's international profile.
That's right.
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