The 67-year-old Mr. Abe bled to death after receiving two severe wounds, according to a doctor at Nara Medical University Hospital.
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed in the western city of Nara while delivering a speech.
According to Dr. Hidetada Fukushima of Nara Medical University Hospital, the 67-year-old man bled to death after sustaining two deep neck wounds that destroyed an artery.
He had no vital signs upon arrival and could not be resuscitated due to severe heart damage.
During four hours of blood transfusions, more than 100 units of blood were administered as Mr. Abe hemorrhaged.
The former prime minister was shot from behind using a handmade gun.
Since the 1930s, this is the first assassination of a sitting or former Japanese prime minister.
Mr. Abe slumped while holding his chest, his shirt stained with blood. NHK aired footage of security personnel chasing after him.
A plume of white smoke was observed as he delivered a campaign address outside a train station on the eve of Sunday’s upper house elections in Japan.
A reporter on-site reported hearing two consecutive bangs during Mr. Abe’s speech.
What is our knowledge of the suspect?
Tetsuya Yamagami, age 41, has been apprehended.
Images from the scene depict him, wearing a grey T-shirt and beige pants, being wrestled to the ground by police officers.
In addition, isolated video footage appears to depict him moments before the shooting.
NHK said that potential bombs were discovered at Tetsuya’s Nara City residence.
NHK stated that the man told officers he was dissatisfied with Mr. Abe and intended to kill him.
However, according to Kyodo News, the guy was not motivated by a grudge toward Mr. Abe’s political ideas.
According to reports, the suspect also served in the Japanese Navy.
Earlier, the current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, stated that while “all that can be done is being done,” Mr. Abe’s health was “grave.”
Mr. Kishida also stated that the “act of cruelty” was “totally unpardonable.” He has requested that all cabinet members return to Tokyo.
A free and fair election, according to the prime minister, must be defended at all costs, and campaigning will continue on Saturday.
Mr. Kishida expressed high regard for Mr. Abe’s legacy.
“Inexcusable, regardless of the circumstances”
Political violence is uncommon in Japan due to the country’s stringent firearms laws.
According to authorities, there were just ten gun-related criminal cases in a nation of 125 million people last year, resulting in one death and four injuries.
The bulk of these incidents, eight, involved gangs.
Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, stated, “A barbarous crime such as kind is inexcusable, whatever of the motives, and we condemn it vehemently.”
Boris Johnson, the departing British prime minister, described Mr. Abe’s passing as “very sad news.”
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, described Mr. Abe as a “beautiful person, a great democrat, and a defender of the multilateral world system.”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that there is no justification for the horrible act of violence.
Mr. Abe served two terms as prime minister, becoming Japan’s longest-serving leader, before announcing his resignation in 2020, citing a recurrence of a serious health condition.
Since he was a teen, he has been affected by ulcerative colitis.
He has maintained his position as a powerful figure inside the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, commanding one of its major groups.
