Ex-Japan PM Abe assassinated, saddened beyond words, PM Modi

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has passed away.The former Prime Minister was shot in the back and bleeding on-site when he was shifted to a hospital. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the shooting of his predecessor Shinzo Abe is absolutely unforgivable. He condemned the shooting as a barbaric and malicious act and said, that it cannot be tolerated. Kishida was speaking to reporters at his official residence in Tokyo after rushing back to the capital from Yamagata, where he had been campaigning. The broadcaster aired footage showing Abe collapsed on the street, with several security guards running toward him. Abe was holding his chest when he collapsed, with his shirt smeared with blood. NHK says Abe was rushed to a hospital. Abe was in Nara campaigning ahead of Sunday’s election for the parliament’s upper house and was giving a speech when people heard a gunshot. Soon after, the police arrested a man suspect at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder, NHK said. .Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has collapsed on the street after being shot in the western prefecture of Nara. The fire department says he is showing no vital signs. Police say a man was arrested at the scene.

"Former prime minister Abe was shot at around 11:30 am," in the country's western region of Nara, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. An official at Nara Medical University hospital declined to comment on his condition saying "what we can share now is that his transfer here has been completed," reported AFP.  Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, held office in 2006 for one year and again from 2012 to 2020, when he was forced to step down due to the debilitating bowel condition ulcerative colitis.

India will observe a one-day national mourning on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he is deeply distressed by the attack on former Prime Minister of Japan and his dear friend Shinzo Abe. In a tweet, Modi said that our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family, and the people of Japan.

I am shocked and saddened beyond words at the tragic demise of one of my dearest friends, Shinzo Abe. He was a towering global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a remarkable administrator. He dedicated his life to make Japan and the world a better place.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2022

Paying his tributes to Abe, defence minister Rajnath Singh said India had lost a close friend who 'assiduously worked towards strengthening the bilateral relations between India and Japan'. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi tweeted that Shinzo Abe's role in strengthening the strategic relationship between India and Japan had been commendable. "He leaves behind a lasting legacy in the Indo-Pacific," Gandhi said.