Former Japan PM Shinzo Abe shot in chest, showing no vital signs. Attacker arrested

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been reportedly shot by an unidentified gunman. Abe was giving a speech in the city of Nara, in western Japan, when the incident happened.

Reports claim Abe is showing no vital signs after being rushed to a hospital following the attack. "A local fire department says former prime minister Abe appears to be in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest," public broadcaster NHK said -- a term used in Japan before a feared death can be confirmed by a doctor.

There was no immediate confirmation from police or fire department officials contacted by AFP.


An NHK reporter on the site heard something that sounded like a gunshot, and saw Abe bleeding. Nara is the capital of Japan’s Nara Prefecture, in South-central Honshu.

The reporter claimed to have heard 'consecutive bangs', after which Abe was seen in blood. The suspect is reportedly a middle-aged man, according to NHK.

Abe had quit from his post in 2020 for health reasons. In his resignation speech, Abe said did not want his illness to get in the way of decision making, and apologised to the Japanese people for failing to complete his term in office.

The 65-year-old has suffered for many years from ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, but he said his condition had worsened recently.

He was Japan's longest serving prime minister. In 2007 he resigned abruptly from an earlier term as prime minister because of his struggles with ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition that he has lived with since he was a teenager.

Abe has a reputation for stimulating Japan's growth with his aggressive economic policy known as "Abenomics".