TOKYO – Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot in Nara Prefecture on Friday while campaigning for a ruling party candidate in Sunday's House of Councillors election.
Local media citing police and firefighters reported Abe, 67, was airlifted to a hospital in a state of cardiac arrest after being found bleeding and unconscious on the ground.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Abe was in a “grave condition” after the “absolutely unforgivable” incident.
"I am praying from my heart that Abe survives this ordeal," Kishida said.
Abe was delivering a speech in front of Kintetsu Railway's Yamato-Saidaiji Station at around 11:30 a.m. when he was shot in the neck and chest by Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, a resident of the western city.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo expressed “great shock and dismay” over the shooting incident.
“I extend my deep sympathy and pray for his early recovery,” he said in a tweet. - Florenda Corpuz
(Article cover photo courtesy of © Cabinet Public Relations Office)
