Former PM Shinzo Abe hospitalized after reported shooting

[YoshidaYui]

Last edited Fri Jul 8, 2022, 01:20 AM - Edit history (7)

Source: NPR

TOKYO -- Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan and was airlifted to a hospital but he was not breathing and his heart had stopped, officials said.

Local fire department official Makoto Morimoto said Abe was in cardio and pulmonary arrest after being shot and was taken to a prefectural hospital.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that police arrested an alleged male attacker at the scene. "A barbaric act like this is absolutely unforgivable, no matter what the reasons are, and we condemn it strongly," Matsuno said.

NHK public broadcaster aired footage showing Abe collapsed on the street, with several security guards running toward him, He was reportedly shot a few minuts after he started talking outside of a main train station in western Nara.



Read more: https://www.npr.org/2022/07/07/1110427582/japan-ex-leader-shinzo-abe-apparently-shot-japanese-public-broadcaster-reports96

[BigmanPigman]

1. Watching on CNN now. He was shot in the chest.

[spooky3]

3. CNN says "possible shooting." He was rushed to hospital. Nt

[rpannier]

4. Per NHK Japanese Broadcaster

Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has been sent to a hospital and appears to show no vital signs after reportedly being shot in the city of Nara in western Japan, according to a local fire department. An NHK reporter says she heard what sounded like two gunshots and saw Abe bleeding.

[BigmanPigman]

5. The chyron says that but the reporter they just had on

said he was shot in the chest.

[rpannier]

6. From NHK

Man taken into custody after former Japanese PM Abe Shinzo collapses

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220708_19/

(This is the English link)

[spooky3]

8. WaPo:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/07/japan-shinzo-abe-shot-nara-attack/

[JohnSJ]

7. Why?

[BigmanPigman]

10. Maybe they're trying to copy our stellar example regarding guns and shooting.

[AllyCat]

19. Our cancer is spreading around the world.

Thanks to the NRA and wimpy politicians, we get more and more dead people.

[YoshidaYui]

11. Guess they will have to ask the shooter

I Admired him, as he took over when the Tsunami and Earthquake hit JAPAN, and when the Nuclear plant went critical, I Felt so bad I donated over 90 dollars, the most i could afford to help Japan recover.

[rpannier]

12. Hard to say

We have a lot of crazies here
Media here in Japan reports the police have someone in custody, but the police haven't said who they are

[Rhiannon12866]

29. That was my first thought, too!

[calimary]

9. Shit. The "America disease" is spreading.

Copenhagen a few days ago. Now this.

[AkFemDem]

18. People have been global leaders for decades -

Not an American thing. This wasn’t a mass shooter.

[NYC Liberal]

20. Really for most of human history.

[blm]

13. 😢

[LudwigPastorius]

14. Local fire department on the scene says he had no vital signs.

...according to Al Jazeera.

Damn.

[Kali]

15. WTF?

crazies everywhere

[dem4decades]

16. I remember Abe rolling his eyes on the Oval Office when Trump was being an idiot.

[NullTuples]

32. And for perspective, Abe is/was a right-wing Japanese nationalist.

[dem4decades]

45. Thanks, I didn't know what he was all about.

The only thing I knew about him was JL Cauvin did a funny impression of him (as Trump) on his Making Podcasts Great Again podcast.

[madaboutharry]

17. This world is gripped by so much madness.

Human beings are often just a terrible species.

Political violence in particular is so unnerving, it shakes the earth beneath you and takes away the belief that there is hope in the world.

Very shocking for this to have happened in Japan.

CNN reporting he was shot in the chest.

[cilla4progress]

36. These things can be

very destabilizing.

Archduke Ferdinand comes to mind.

[maxsolomon]

21. He wasn't in power.

So why, just why.

[madaboutharry]

24. CNN reported that he was still very active in politics and a "Kingmaker."

The reporting was that he is a towering figure in Japan.

The shooter is in custody.

Such overwhelming news coming out of Japan.

[miyazaki]

22. looks bad

[BootinUp]

23. Another day another terrible shock. What was his speech for?

[littlemissmartypants]

25. Oh, no! Terribly tragic and sad. BBC reports he's bleeding from his neck. ❤

[edbermac]

26. From the Beeb, sounds bad

Mr Abe was shot twice, with the second shot hitting him in the back, causing him to fall to the ground. Reports say his attacker has since been arrested.
Ex-Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe said in a tweet that Mr Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest.

The term is often used before a death is officially confirmed in Japan.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62089486

[AllyCat]

27. Why? What would prompt some but to do this?

He’s not even in office anymore.

[Xolodno]

28. You ask "why"?

Why JFK? Why Reagan? Why Duke Ferdinand? Why Tsar Alexander II?


There is always some loon out there, because they are the one thing security services can not predict or get in track of. So they slip through the cracks. Someone makes a manifesto, screams online, etc. you can track them. The guy who stays quiet....well....

[LeftInTX]

30. OMG!

[SunSeeker]

31. This is horrific.

[C Moon]

33. Why the hell would someone assasinate a person who is no longer in office?

[Sympthsical]

37. He's still very influential and politically active

He was campaigning for his party for elections on Sunday.

[Straw Man]

39. He's also a war-crimes denier ...

... and opposed reparations for Japan's WWII victims.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/04/shinzo-abe-japan-south-korea-war-nationalism/

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Korean connection here.

[AZLD4Candidate]

40. I don't believe Koreans (or the Chinese for that matter) would be involved

If Korean, I would suspect North Korea rather than South Korea.

[Straw Man]

41. We'll see.

If Korean, I would suspect North Korea rather than South Korea.

I would too. The North Koreans would like nothing better than to drive a wedge between South Korea and Japan. They will do anything they can to exploit the pre-existing historical tensions.

[Raine]

34. Only in America ... not anymore 😥

people have gone crazy over so much of the world, what the hell!

[yaesu]

35. Bloomberg Quicktake - NHK cites unidentified sources saying the gun appears "hand-made"

Link to tweet

/photo/1

[SunSeeker]

38. Yes, not the type of weapon you can mow down a parade with.

But it obviously did major damage to Abe, especially since the gunman fired at close range. Not looking good.

[onetexan]

42. BBC is reporting Abe has died

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62089486

"Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died in hospital after he was shot at a political campaign event, say local media.
Mr Abe was shot at twice while he was giving a speech in the southern city of Nara on Friday morning.
He immediately collapsed and was rushed to the nearest hospital. Pictures taken at the scene showed him bleeding.
Security officials at the scene tackled the gunman, and the 41-year-old suspect is now in police custody."

and at the bottom:
"Comments gloating over the attack on Mr Abe have dominated Chinese social media, and have also surfaced on Korean platforms.
China and South Korea have historically complicated and fraught relationships with Japan. Mr Abe, known for his military hawkishness, was unpopular with citizens of both countries during his term in office."

I wouldn't be surprised the chinese were behind it. Abe was a staunch American ally, much to China's ire.

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. suspect is ex-Maritime Self-Defense Force (more or less Navy)

If another country were involved, I'd look at North Korea before China - they've assassinated before. But that home-made gun above, if it was the weapon, looks more like an individual rather than something well-financed (and a country would be more likely to try and cover its tracks by getting the gunman away).

[YoshidaYui]

43. Just saw a report that

Just saw a report that Abe has died. So very dad!

[Calista241]

46. I always thought he had the coolest, most Japanese name imaginable from an American. RIP.