On Friday morning, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was reportedly shot in the chest in Nara city. According to a local media outlet, NHK, eyewitnesses heard two gunshots.
Abe, who was the Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and 2012 to 2020, shares a close bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi has often referred to him as his friend on numerous occasions.
During his visit to India, Abe met PM Modi and held summit talks in New Delhi, which was followed by a trip to Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of PM Modi. The two leaders also performed the Ganga aarti in 2015.
Two years later, Shinzo Abe had visited Ahmedabad to lay the foundation of India's first bullet train. A year later he hosted PM Modi at his private holiday home when the latter visited Japan for the India-Japan annual summit.
Former PM Abe was given the Padma Vibhushan, India's the second-highest civilian award, in the year 2021.
In the month of May this year, PM Modi also reconnected with Shinzo Abe this year during Quad Summit. Along with the former PM of Japan, he also met Yoshihide Suga and Yoshiro Mori.
The incident took place in near Yamatosaidaiji Station in Nara city while he was making a speech for a Liberal Democratic Party candidate's election campaign at around 11. 30 a.m. (local time).
Shinzo Abe appears to have no vital signs, the report suggests. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder as of now. A gun has also been retrieved from him. Abe, in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, is unconscious.
