TOKYO — Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, passed out on Friday after being injured while speaking in western Japan, a fire official said.
Abe, 67, collapsed and appeared to be bleeding after a gunshot was heard in the town of Nara near Kyoto, according to a reporter from NHKlocal public broadcaster.
Seigo Yasuhara, an officer at the Nara Fire Brigade Command Center, said Mr. Abe was taken by ambulance to a medical evacuation helicopter. He was then transported to Nara Medical University Hospital, the Nara Fire Department said.
He was unconscious and showed no vital signs, the official said. Kyodo News said Mr Abe was shot in the chest.
NHK, citing police, said a suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, had been taken into custody. He was in his 40s and a native of Nara, the report said.
Mr Abe was off the land longest serving prime minister and served two terms, from 2006 to 2007 and 2012 to 2020. He resigned in 2020 due to ill health.
The former prime minister was campaigning in Nara ahead of elections to the upper house of parliament scheduled for Sunday. Fumio Kishida, the current prime minister, was on campaign in Yamagata prefecture and was due to return to Tokyo, where he was expected to address the news media.
Hirokazu Matsuno, chief of staff to Prime Minister Kishida, said a crisis management center had been set up in the prime minister’s office.
Rahm Emanuel, US Ambassador to Japan, said in a message on Twitter“We are all saddened and shocked,” adding: “Abe-san is an outstanding leader of Japan and an unwavering ally of the US. The US government and the American people pray for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, & people of Japan.”
This is a story in development. Come back for updates.