Japan-Abe’s Death/Cause

Shotlist

Nara City, Japan – July 9, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
1. Gunman Tetsuya Yamagami’s apartment exterior
2. Police vehicle

Nara City, Japan – July 8, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of Nara police station exterior, police vehicle

Nara City, Japan – July 9, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of motorcade with body of Shinzo Abe driving by, surrounded by press

Beijing, China – July 9, 2022 (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
5. Screenshot of UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres’s tweet
6. Animation of statement from Chinese embassy in Tokyo
7. Screenshot of French President Emmanuel Macron’s tweet
8. Screenshot of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tweet

Storyline

Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, died from loss of blood after a bullet damaged an artery under his collarbone, said the police in Nara on Saturday.

Abe was shot on Friday by a gunman during his speech in the western city of Nara when campaigning for his Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday’s upper house election.

Abe, 67, fell to the ground and was seen bleeding after he was shot from behind at 11:30 local time, according to the local police and firefighters.

Police detained the suspected gunman identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, a resident of the western city, at the scene. Yamagami served the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) for three years until around 2005, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK quoted defense sources as saying.

Leaders from around the world have been paying tribute to the former PM’s death.

In a statement on Twitter, UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres described Abe’s death as horrific and praised his commitment to multilateralism.

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo released a statement, saying “Former Prime Minister Abe made contributions towards improving China-Japan relations during his term. We express our condolences on his death and send our sympathies to his family.”

South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol sent his condolences to the former leader’s family and the people of Japan.

U.S. President Joe Biden has called Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to express his outrage, sadness and deep condolences.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted “Japan has lost a great prime minister, who dedicated his life to his country and worked to ensure order in the world.”

Just a day after announcing he would step down as British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said Abe’s “global leadership through uncharted times will be remembered by many.”

In Russia, a statement from Vladimir Putin described Abe as a “prominent statesman” who had done a lot to develop “good neighborly ties” between the two countries.