Japan's former PM shot during public campaign speech
UPDATE: Japan's current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has confirmed Shinzo's condition is critical, as doctors are "doing everything they can" to keep him alive.
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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been shot following an attack at a campaign event in Nara.
Abe, 67, was reported to be unconscious and unresponsive just after 11:30am Tokyo time and has allegedly entered a state of cardiac arrested.
According to various reports from the event, Abe had collapsed after gun shots were heard, while people at the scene started to perform CPR. Local media sources have also stated that he was bleeding profusely from the neck at the time he collapsed, prompting him to be rushed to hospital.
The alleged gunman who made no attempt to run away was then apprehended by police, who confiscated his weapon. The man is believed to be in his 40s.
In the past few weeks, Abe had been campaigning on behalf of the Liberal Democratic Party ahead of the House of Councillors election on July 10th.
Not only was Shinzo Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, but he was also the most influential Japanese political figure of his generation. He held office in 2006 for one year and again from 2012 to 2020, when he was forced to step down due to a debilitating health condition.
Australian PM Anthony Albanese has taken to Twitter shocked about the news, keeping Abe’s family and the people of Japan in his thoughts.
There have been no official reports stating Shinzo has gone into heart failure, with an update on his condition yet to be confirmed.
More to come.
Image: ABC News / NHK Japan