World
Shinzo Abe dies: Shinzo Abe, born in 1954, was the Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020.
Updated : Jul 08, 2022, 02:32 PM IST | Edited by : Vaibhav Tiwari
Former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead today in western Japan's Nara. The bleeding Abe was taken to a hospital after he collapsed while delivering a speech in the city. He later died of his injuries in a hospital/
Who shot Shinzo Abe? The police have detained a male suspect. It is unclear what led to the crime. According to reports, Shinzo Abe was shot in the back by a shotgun.
Kyodo news agency and NHK said Abe, 67, appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest when taken to hospital. It reported that eyewitnesses heard two gunshots. They saw Abe being rushed to the hospital. Shinzo Abe appeared to have no vital signs, it reported. A gun was retrieved from him.
The attacker was later identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, a resident of Japan’s Nara city. The motive behind the assasination is not clear yet and the perpetrator is being interrogated by the authorities. Yamagami attacked Abe with a shotgun.
All you need to know about Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe, born in 1954, was the Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020. He and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a good equation. PM Modi referred to him as his friend on several occasions.
Shinzo Abe also remained the President of the Liberal Democratic Party twice.
Shinzo Abe was the longest serving prime minister of Japan. He also held the crucial posts of Chief Cabinet Secretary and leader of the opposition in his illustrious career. Abe's career in public life began in 1993 when he was elected to the House of Representatives.
Then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed him as the Chief Cabinet Secretary in September 2005. He replaced him as the prime minister and the party's president a year later. He was the youngest post world-war prime minister of Japan. He had to resign due to a medical condition a year later. He brought political stability in Japan in 2022 when he scored a landslide victory. Before that, five prime ministers couldn't even complete 16 months at office.
Shinzo Abe repeated the 2012 performance in 2017, as he led his party to another landslide win. He became the longest serving prime minister in 2020.
In August 2020, Shinzo Abe had to resign as the prime minister of Japan due to ulcerative colitis.
Shinzo Abe was known to be a conservative by political ideology. He had been described by commentators as a right-wing Japanese nationalist. He was a member of Nippon Kaigi, a group that denies several key aspects of Japanese history, including the recruitment of 'comfort women' during World War 2.
Shinzo Abe came from a wealthy political family. His father was a foreign minister. His great-uncle was also Japan's prime minister.
With inputs from Reuters