….Suspect arrested
KYOTO-(MaraviPost)-Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot while giving a speech on Friday in Nara, a western Japanese city 35 kilometers south of Kyoto.
The country’s news agency NHK confirmed the death on Friday, few hours after the 67-year-old was shot in the chest and the neck.
The Insider reported that the former minister was shot twice from behind while giving a speech near a train station in the western city of Nara by an assailant ahead of this Sunday’s upper-house election.
Other reports indicated that he was immediately taken to the hospital, but at the time that he was not showing any vital signs.
A 41-year-old male suspect was arrested at the scene following the tragedy. He was identified ad Tetsuya Yamagami, and he reportedly disclosed to police that he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him.
Abe was Japan’s longest serving prime minister. He resigned in 2020 due to ulcerative colitis, a chronic bowel condition. He also resigned abruptly in 2007, citing ill health.
Born in 1954, Abe came from a prominent political family. During his reign, his controversial moves was his push to amend Japan’s post-World War Two pacifist constitution.
However, at the end of his tenure, he faced criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of scandals among his center-right LDP members.
