Shinzo Abe, a former prime minister of Japan has been shot dead.
Abe died in hospital on Friday, hours after being shot while speaking at a political campaign event ahead of Sunday’s Upper House elections.
His attack has been widely condemned as “absolutely unforgivable”.
Abe’s death was confirmed by a senior member of the Liberal Democratic Party, saying “former prime minister Abe died at a hospital in Kashihara city, Nara, where he was receiving medical treatment. He was 67.”
The assassination of undoubtedly Japan’s best-known politician is coming despite the strict gun laws in the country.
41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, has been identified as the suspect behind Abe’s shooting.
Yamagami was caught wielding a “handmade gun” and told police after his arrest that he “targeted Abe with the intention of killing him”.
