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Former Japanese PM in ‘critical condition’ after being shot

BREAKING NEWS
Article image for Former Japanese PM in ‘critical condition’ after being shot

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe is in a “critical condition” after being shot while delivering a speech in the city of Nara, near Kyoto.

Public broadcaster NHK reports Abe collapsed around 11.30am, believed to have gone into cardiac arrest, and has been taken to hospital.

A sound like a gunshot was heard at the time and a male suspect was detained at the scene, NHK said.

Abe, the most influential Japanese politician of his generation and the country’s longest-serving prime minister, retired in 2020 but remains a significant powerbroker in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

He was in the middle of campaigning on behalf of the LDP for upper house elections. The election, due on Sunday, is seen as a key test of Prime Minister Fumio 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.

Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull – who was close to Abe during his time in office – said he was horrified by the news from Japan.

“Abe Shinzo is one of the great leaders of our times,” he said. “Right now we must hope and pray that he pulls through.”

Abe was twice been Japan’s prime minister, first between 2006 and 2007, and then from 2012 and 2020.

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