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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and collapsed during an election campaign.



The news of the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe, who served as Japan's longest-serving prime minister and was the center of the conservative and right-wing forces, shocked the Japanese archipelago.



Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe collapsed in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan around 11:30 a.m. today (8th) while campaigning on a street ahead of the House of Councilors election, NHK and Kyodo News reported.



At the time, gunshot-like sounds were heard twice, and former Prime Minister Abe collapsed with blood dripping from his chest, an NHK reporter at the scene said.



A police official said former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared to have been shot from behind.



Former Prime Minister Abe was rushed to a hospital and fire officials said he was in cardiac arrest.



Cardiopulmonary arrest means that the heart and breathing have stopped but have not been declared dead by a doctor.



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Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that "former Prime Minister Abe was shot in Nara Prefecture" and that the current situation is being checked.



Abe was initially conscious while being transported by an ambulance and he responded to calls to himself, but he later lost consciousness and was said to be in cardiopulmonary arrest.



At the scene, the police are investigating and detaining 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, who lives in Nara City, on charges of attempted murder.



The gun he was carrying was also confiscated.



Private broadcaster TBS reported that Yamagami was a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.



A video recorded by an on-site witness shows that former Prime Minister Abe collapses after white smoke rises.



According to NHK, one expert also commented that the gun used in the crime appeared to be a modified version of a regular gun, not a shotgun.



Former Prime Minister Abe served as prime minister twice from September 2006 to September 2007 and from December 2012 to September 2020.



He leads the Abe faction, the largest faction within the LDP.



Japanese society is shocked by the assassination of a former prime minister two days before voting in the House of Representatives elections.



Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has canceled the local campaign schedule and is returning to the prime minister's residence, and major Japanese broadcasters have all switched to the special advisory system.



Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno commented, "Atrocities like this one are unacceptable and we firmly condemn them."