Ex-Japan Leader Abe Killed in Shooting That Shocks Nation
- Abe, 67, was shot while campaigning for upper house election
- Former member of Self-Defense Forces arrested, police say
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Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- Japan’s longest-serving premier and a figure of enduring influence -- died after being shot at a campaign event Friday in an attack that shocked a nation where political violence and guns are rare.
Abe, 67, was shot from about 3 meters (10 feet) away with what appeared to be a homemade firearm in the western city of Nara, as he was giving a campaign speech at an outdoor venue for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party ahead of Sunday’s upper house election. Video and images from the scene showed the former premier collapsing to the ground, with blood on his shirt after two loud blasts rang out.