Update from NHK:<p>The apprehended suspect is identified as Tetsuya Yamagami (41), a Nara resident. According to sources from the defense ministry, he was employed by the Maritime Self-Defense Forces for ~3y until 2005. Weapon seems to be homemade.<p>No updates on Abe's status since a 13:30 update from the local fire department. He's injured in chest- and neck areas, has internal bleeding and did not show vital signs.<p>14:40: PM Kishida arrived at the PM residence by helicopter ~10minutes ago and is currently in discussions. A press conference is expected soon.<p>14:46: Police: Suspect Yamagami says he was frustrated with what ex-PM Abe was doing and approached him with the intent of killing him.<p>14:49: Live announcement from (a doubly understandably very sweaty and intermittently sobbing but surprisingly composed) PM Kishida: Abe is in critical condition. Hopes and prayers. Elections are ongoing. Unforgivable act. Doctors are working hard to save Abe. Not appropriate to address the political situation at this moment and I am not comfortable to do so. Cabinet members convening in Tokyo and work to be ready for any outcome. I do not have full information to be able to make any further detailed comments.
And after debating gun violence all week with my friends in the wake of the 4th of July shooting in Highland Park I made an example of Japan and it’s low gun violence. Now this happens.<p>Crazy stuff still happens in Japan but it’s usually a knife or ax. But guns and Abe are on another level.
The most surprising thing here is that he was shot. How does someone even get a gun in Japan?<p>Number two is he’s the exPM, so what would shooting him gain?
Update:
Former Japan PM Abe Dies After Being Shot<p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live-blog/2022-07-08/former-japan-pm-abe-collapses-after-shots-heard" rel="nofollow">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live-blog/2022-07-08/former-j...</a>
NHK World livestream here:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0lYkdA-Gtw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0lYkdA-Gtw</a>
Live-translated press conference, starting in 4 mins: <a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/live/" rel="nofollow">https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/live/</a><p>EDIT: Delayed a few minutes. Given Shinzo JUST arrived at hospital, they're likely seeing if he's coded before announcing.
Just watched report on ANNNewsCH (Youtube). He has a bullet wound on the right side of the neck, and also internal/subcutaneous bleeding on the left side of the chest.
(I heard it as 左の胸の皮下出血).<p>Here is an interesting tidbit:<p>...また、男が銃を撃つ瞬間を見たと言う女性は、男は撃った後も冷静だったと話しています。<p>Also, a woman who says she witnessed the moment when the suspect fired the gun says that after firing he was calm/composed.
Pardon me for making an outsider's observation, but it appears to me that in Japan you have either extremely safe and no crime / complete safety and courtesy (most of the time), or 0.1% of the time some guy goes off his rocker and kills many, many people or something like this.
A few reddit comments pointed that the gun was a shotgun, the arrested suspect was in his 40s and presumably an NCO in JSDF. Nothing about motivation yet, just that he surrendered after the two shots
Update 3 from terminal:<p>Jul 07 2022 23:10:51<p>By Ryotaro Nakamaru<p>(Bloomberg) --
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was unconscious and unresponsive after he was apparently shot in the chest during a political event in the western city of Nara on Friday, national broadcaster NHK and local media reports said.<p>Abe, 67, was apparently shot in the chest, national broadcaster NHK said, adding a man had been apprehended at the scene. The suspect appeared to be a young or middle-aged man, an NHK reporter said.<p>Abe was rushed to a hospital and unconscious after the attack. He may have gone into cardiac arrest, Kyodo News reported, citing local firefighters.<p>07/07 23:17 ET
Witnesses on NHK are saying that Abe was shot from behind. Abe took one step back at the first shot and fell at the second shot, they said.<p>07/07 23:24 ET
Police have seized the gun, NHK is reporting. There is some confusion about the gun used, with one witness saying “it looked like a toy bazooka.”<p>07/07 23:24 ET
The news reports are saying that Abe is in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest -- i.e. without vital signs.<p>As only a doctor can pronounce someone dead, this is language often used by police before a confirmation is made. While we don’t have details yet, the language being used is not encouraging for Abe’s condition.
Oh<p>07/07 23:36 photos of the shooter have emerged<p><a href="https://www.asahi.com/articles/photo/AS20220708001407.html?iref=pc_photo_gallery_1" rel="nofollow">https://www.asahi.com/articles/photo/AS20220708001407.html?i...</a>
From the picture the gun is homemade -<p><a href="https://twitter.com/bulletinletters/status/1545250210682732544/photo/2" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/bulletinletters/status/15452502106827325...</a><p><a href="https://twitter.com/Global_Mil_Info/status/1545249495398719488/photo/1" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/Global_Mil_Info/status/15452494953987194...</a><p>Standard pipe gun with I'd guess homemade ammunition, gunpowder and ball bearings.
The title doesn't match that of the article, “Former Japan PM Abe Unconscious After Shooting; Man in Custody”. The word <i>assassinated</i> is incorrect, because that means that he was killed. (Maybe he is dead, but the article doesn't say that.)
A good man? Do people here read anything non-tech related?<p>Shinzo Abe was a world-renown revisionist who tried to turn Japan back into a far-right, ultra-racist country. Look, you guys are super smart with computers, but stop this absolute nonsense.<p><a href="https://jacobin.com/2017/03/abe-nippon-kaigi-japan-far-right" rel="nofollow">https://jacobin.com/2017/03/abe-nippon-kaigi-japan-far-right</a>
I imagine this will be front page. It would be nice if the link could be changed to a non-paywalled site.<p>I recommend The Guardian though I’m mostly indifferent: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/08/shinzo-abe-former-japan-prime-minister-shot-during-speech-reports" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/08/shinzo-abe-for...</a>
In other news (Japan to start jailing people for online insults) <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32011600" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32011600</a><p>I think this is not a coincidence. We are back at mid 30s.