The very popular Shinzo Abe, a longtime friend of President Trump, stepped down as Prime Minister of Japan in 2020, but has been campaigning for various politicians as he remains active in politics.   An assassin shot him moments ago:

TOKYO — Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and gravely injured while campaigning Friday in south-central Japan, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was giving a speech in the city of Nara when he was shot around 11:30 a.m. (10:30 p.m. Thursday ET). NHK, citing the local fire department, reported that Abe was in a state of “cardiopulmonary arrest.” It said the suspected shooter appeared to have been apprehended.

Elections for the upper house of the Japanese Parliament are Sunday. Abe, 67, who stepped down in 2020, was campaigning for other members of the governing Liberal Democratic Party but is not a candidate himself. (LINK)

UPDATE:  Shinzo Abe was shot from behind by a 40-year-old assassin using a shotgun.  Shooter fired two shots.  Shinzo Abe fell after the second shot. UPDATE 2: NO VITAL SIGNS

Pictures below of Abe and the shooter.  Warning.  Disturbing.

JAPAN – Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has been shot on the street in the western prefecture of Nara.  Police arrested a man at the scene.

Abe was making a speech for an election campaign in Nara City. He collapsed at around 11: 30 a.m., after people on the scene heard what sounded like a gun going off twice.

Abe was taken to a hospital. The fire department says he is showing no vital signs.

Police arrested 41-year-old Yamagami Tetsuya in Nara City for allegedly attempting murder. They say they seized a gun at the site which the suspect was apparently holding.

Abe was transferred by medevac to Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara City in the prefecture. Police say Abe appears to have been shot from behind.

An NHK reporter who was at the scene says Abe was bleeding.

The site is near Yamatosaidaiji Station in Nara City. Abe was campaigning for a Liberal Democratic Party candidate before the Upper House election scheduled on Sunday. (more)

Shooter:

Livestream:

 

President Trump and Shinzo Abe were close personal friends long before Donald Trump entered politics.

 

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