Following Shinzo Abe’s shooting in the chest during a speech, former PM Scott Morrison led the condolences from Australian lawmakers to the former prime minister of Japan.
After the shooting at around 11.30am local time in the city of Nara, which is close to Osaka, Mr. Abe, 67, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan, is thought dead.
Firefighters at the site said that the former prime minister was showing “no vital signs” following the shooting, which shocked the entire world.
Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, and the current prime minister, Anthony Albanese, all left remarks on Scott Morrison’s Facebook page in support of Mr. Abe.
Shinzo Abe, a former Japanese prime minister, is allegedly the target of an attack, Mr. Morrison wrote.
“PM Abe is one of the most significant world leaders of the post-war era and a wonderful and sensible friend of Australia.”
In this extremely trying time, our prayers are with him, his wife Akie, and the people of Japan.
The following statement was made by Mr. Albanese on Twitter: “Shocking news from Japan that former PM Shinzo Abe has been shot. Our sympathies are with his family and the people of Japan at this time.”
‘Horrified by this horrible news from Japan,’ Mr. Turnbull wrote. One of the outstanding leaders of our time is Abe Shinzo. Right now, we can only hope and pray that he survives.
As she echoed his disbelief, Mr. Abbott referred to the lawmaker from Japan as a “friend” of Australia.
We must all hope and pray that he survives this horrible act of violence against one of the most prominent democratic statesmen in the world.
Shinzo Abe is the best friend Australia has ever had in Japan, which explains why we are so unmoved by this heinous conduct.
With two terms in power, from 2012 to 2020 and 2006 to 2007, Mr. Abe is Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
Although medical personnel described him as being “in a state of cardiac arrest,” there is no official word on his status.
When a patient has passed away but not been formally proclaimed dead, people in Japan frequently use that expression.
Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old veteran of the military, was detained on the spot, and police also seized what appeared to be a handmade gun.
During Mr. Abe’s address in support of his candidacy for the upper chamber of parliament on Sunday, witnesses reported hearing two gunshots.
Then, while still grasping his chest, he passed out, bleeding all over his clothing.
Police reportedly wrestled with and detained a male suspect at the scene of the incident, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.
According to NHK, Yamagami was detained on suspicion of trying to kill someone.
Police reported that a gun they seized from the site seemed to be handmade.
It was a shocking event involving Japan’s most well-known politician in a nation with a reputation for having strict gun restrictions and low rates of violent crime.
According to top cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the former prime minister Abe was shot in the western city of Nara at around 11:30 a.m.
“One man has been brought into custody who is thought to be the shooter.” The condition of former prime minister Abe is currently unknown.’
Whatever the motivation, Matsuno continued, “Such a terrible conduct can never be accepted, and we strongly condemn it.
The alleged shooter, a former soldier who served in the Japanese self-defense forces and was tackled at the scene and captured, appears to have created the makeshift weapon used in the killing.
Yamagami had been employed by the Maritime Self-Defense Force for three years, from about 2005, according to many Ministry of Defense sources.
According to reports, Mr. Abe had his security team around him throughout the address on Friday, but the assailant managed to get his hand on the gun and shoot him at close range “without being checked.”