The 76-year-old former prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, died after being shot in the assassination, NHK and Jiji news agency reported on Friday.
“According to a senior LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) official, former prime minister Abe died at a hospital in Kashihara city, Nara region, where he was receiving medical treatment. He was 67,” said NHK.
Hidetada Fukushima, professor of emergency medicine at Nara Medical University hospital, said Abe was in a state of cardiac arrest when he arrived at the hospital.
“Shinzo Abe was transported at 12:20 pm. He was in a state of cardiac arrest upon arrival,” said Fukushima.
“Resuscitation was administered. However, unfortunately, he died at 5:03 pm,” the report added.
Abe was flown by helicopter to the hospital after he was shot while speaking at a campaign event in Nara.
Ex-Japan PM Shinzo Abe dead after assassination
But Abe reportedly had no vital signs when he was taken to the hospital. He sustained bullet wounds to the neck and chest. A bullet entered from his left shoulder.
The wife of former prime minister Akie Abe arrived at the hospital on Friday afternoon, and the family was informed of the death of the former Japanese leader.
Abe was born into a notable political family and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1993. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed him Chief Cabinet Secretary in September 2005, and he succeeded him as Prime Minister and LDP President in September 2006.
He was later approved as prime minister by a special session of the National Diet, becoming Japan’s youngest postwar prime minister and the first born after WWII. However, Abe resigned as Prime Minister after only one year in office due to medical difficulties from ulcerative colitis. Shortly after, his party lost the House of Councillors election that year. He was succeeded by Yasuo Fukuda, who became the first of five prime ministers to fail to serve for more than sixteen months.
Shinzo Abe’s premiership was known worldwide for his government’s economic policies, dubbed Abenomics, which focused on monetary easing, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms.
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