By Eryk Bagshaw
Shinzo Abe, a towering figure in Japanese and global politics, was assassinated on Friday, sending shockwaves around Japan and the world.
The former prime minister fought for his life in hospital but died later in the day. His wife of more than 30 years, Akie Abe, arrived by his side just before 5pm local time. Abe was pronounced dead at 5.03pm.
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.Credit: Kyodo News/AP
Japanese leader Fumio Kishida had said doctors “were doing everything” they could to save the 67-year-old but the Liberal Democratic Party announced his death just after 6pm on Friday (AEST).
“I cannot find words to describe how I feel,” Kishida said after Abe’s death was announced. “This barbaric, malicious act in the middle of an election cannot be tolerated.”
Kishida said the attack on Abe during an election campaign was an attack on “the very foundation of democracy”.
Hidetada Fukushima, who leads the emergency medicine department at Nara Medical University Hospital that attempted to save Abe’s life, said it was not possible for doctors to stop the bleeding.
Fukushima said Abe had been shot twice, including once in the neck. A second bullet reached the wall of his heart. “He had no vital signs, we tried conducting resuscitation measures but unfortunately, he passed away just after 5pm,” he said.
People attend to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, after he was shot in Nara.Credit: Kyodo News/AP
Abe, who only resigned as prime minister in 2020, was shot in front of campaigners outside a busy train station in Nara, near Kyoto, on Friday morning. The assassin, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami was filmed approaching Abe from behind before firing a homemade shotgun twice in his direction. Footage aired on television showed a shot being fired before white smoke enveloped Abe’s entourage. A second shot saw Abe collapse to the ground, before onlookers attempted CPR and Abe was rushed to hospital.
The assassin was tackled by the former leader’s security detail and later charged by police.
Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said doctors had tried everything to save his older brother’s life including administering blood transfusions. He said the shooting was “unacceptable” and that he would investigate reports that the shooter was a former member of the nation’s self-defence forces. Japanese police have yet to reveal a motive behind the assassination.
Abe, the most influential Japanese politician of his generation and longest-serving prime minister, retired in 2020 but remained a significant powerbroker in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He led the largest faction in the LDP and held considerable sway over its policies and MPs.
A seller hands an extra edition of the news of the attack on Shinzo Abe, in Tokyo on Friday.Credit: Christopher Jue
The shooting triggered an immediate response from world leaders. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Abe’s death was “devastating”.
“Mr Abe was a giant on the world stage – a leader in the G7, the G20 and the United Nations. His legacy was one of global impact and a profound and positive one for Australia,” he said.
“Our thoughts are with his family and the people of Japan at this time.”
US President Joe Biden said he was “stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened” by the death of Abe, who he described as a friend.
He said the United States stands with Japan in its moment of grief.
“He cared deeply about the Japanese people and dedicated his life to their service. Even at the moment he was attacked, he was engaged in the work of democracy”. Biden said.
Former US president Donald Trump said: “He was a unifier like no other, but above all, he was a man who loved and cherished his magnificent country, Japan”.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Abe’s global leadership through uncharted times “will be remembered by many”.
“My thoughts are with his family, friends and the Japanese people,” he said. “The UK stands with you at this dark and sad time.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a national day of mourning ”out of respect” for Abe on Saturday.
Kyodo News reported just after 11.30am, Tokyo time, that Abe was unconscious and unresponsive. Local station MBS also reported that Abe was in a state of cardiac arrest. NHK said he was showing no vital signs. But just after 2pm, Kishida travelled to his office in Tokyo by helicopter to update reporters that Abe was in a “very grave condition”.
Tokyo’s residents stop to watch news of Shinzo Abe’s attempted assassination. Credit: Christopher Jue
“I heard one shot and another shot,” one witness said. “Then I saw the suspect with something larger than a handgun. Then the secret service jumped on top of him. It was shocking.”
Another witness said Abe was in the middle of his speech when a man approached him from behind.
“It looked like a toy or a bazooka. The first shot was just a noise. The second shot we could see the gunpowder and a lot of white smoke,” the witness said.
Security police the suspect believed to have shot Shinzo Abe. A homemade gun lies at his feet.Credit: The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images
“After the second shot Abe collapsed and people were applying CPR. The gunman did not attempt to run away, he was just standing there.”
Philip Alpers, a firearms expert at the University of Sydney said the gun used by Yamagami looked “incredibly homemade”.
“They’re usually just as dangerous to the shooter as they are to the target,” he said. “I would imagine that this one was very unusual in that it was able to injure somebody badly.”
Alpers said Japan had one of the strictest gun control regimes in the world.
“It has almost zero gun homicides in some years. And the only real problem for many years has been the criminals who keep them largely for intimidation, but don’t kill many people,” he said.
“And they don’t tend to be guns like that one on the ground. That one on the ground is, as I say, very, very homemade.”
Abe was campaigning on behalf of the LDP for upper house elections outside the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara when he was shot.
The election, due on Sunday, is seen as a key test of Kishida’s hold on power after he replaced Yoshihide Suga in October. Kishida had stacked his cabinet with Abe allies to maintain his links to the LDP’s conservative base.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said ministers were on their way back to Tokyo.
“Other cabinet members who are currently campaigning throughout Japan have been instructed to return to Tokyo as soon as possible,” Matsuno said. “Such violence cannot be tolerated, and we condemn it in the heaviest way.”
Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was close to Abe during his time in office, said Japan had “lost its most important modern leader, Akie her dear husband and Australia a great friend”.
“Struck down by an assassin, [Abe’s] powerful positive impact on his country and our region will endure,” he said.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.