Status: 08.07.2022 11:08 a.m
According to the Japanese broadcaster NHK, former Japanese Prime Minister Abe is dead. The 67-year-old was shot during an election campaign and taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
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.
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. It should be loud with him ARD correspondent Ulrich Mendgen 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 further. 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 possible motive of the shooter is still unclear, said mendgen further. 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”.