Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead during an election campaign appearance on Friday in broad daylight.

Abe showed no signs of life, a local fire department official said.

Public television network NHK reported that Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest.

Abe's state of health is unclear, said a government spokesman in Tokyo.

It is feared that Abe might not survive the attack.

From the ranks of the ruling Liberal Democrats (LDP) it was said that Abe was unconscious and the situation was bad.

Patrick Welter

Correspondent for business and politics in Japan based in Tokyo.

  • Follow I follow

The 67-year-old Abe had campaigned for the Liberal Democrats (LDP) at one of Japan's usual street appearances ahead of the upper house election this Sunday in the city of Nara in western Japan.

Eyewitnesses reported two shots being fired from behind at the former prime minister.

The police arrested the alleged perpetrator at the scene for attempted murder.

It is said to be a 42-year-old man with no criminal record.

His weapon apparently consisted of two assembled tubes.

Two schoolgirls who watched the election rally from above told NHK television that Abe collapsed after the second shot.

The perpetrator did not try to run away.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida broke off his election campaign in the north and was on his way back to Tokyo.

Longest tenure

Conservative Abe is Japan's longest-serving prime minister.

He ruled for one year, until September 2007, and then from December 2012 to September 2020, when he resigned due to ill health.

As head of the most important faction in the LDP, Abe continued to have a major influence on Japanese politics.

Most recently, he advocated higher defense spending and warned China of the consequences of an invasion of Taiwan.

Abe was full of energy, it said a few days ago from the politician's private environment.

During his reign, Abe also became known internationally for the aggressive, expansive economic policy of Abenomics.

In terms of foreign policy, he tied Japan even more closely to the United States.

By reinterpreting the pacifist constitution, he had opened up very limited opportunities for Japan to deploy the Self-Defense Forces abroad.

Japan has some of the strictest gun laws among developed industrialized countries.

Shootings are rare, as are politically motivated killings.

In 2007, the mayor of Nagasaki died after being shot by a member of a criminal gang.

It's unclear what the assassination means for Sunday's election.

Many Japanese had already cast their votes in advance.

Polls in recent days have pointed to a clear victory for the Liberal Democrats.

Meanwhile, the American ambassador to Japan was shocked by the attack.

"We are all sad and shocked" that the former prime minister was shot, Rahm Emanuel wrote in a statement.

"Abe-san" was a "outstanding leader of Japan and a staunch ally of the United States".

"The US government and people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family and the people of Japan," Emanuel wrote.