Shinzo Abe, a former prime minister of Japan, was shot and killed

The state broadcaster NHK in Japan revealed on Friday that Shinzo Abe, a former prime minister of Japan, has passed away (July 8). 

He had previously been shot at during an electoral meeting earlier in the morning, leaving him unconscious and with no signs of life. He was 67.

Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister who was shot with a pistol during the address, passed away at a hospital in Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture, according to LDP authorities.

The assassin was revealed by the Japanese media to be 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, a former marine in Japan's self-defence forces.

After serving two terms, from 2006 to 2007 and then from 2012 to 2020, Abe was the longest-serving Prime Minister in the history of Japan after the war.

Abe was one of the most important leaders in the nation. 

In August 2020, he declared that he would resign from his position due to the recurrence of a chronic illness. 

In September 2021, Abe, who was 65 at the time, was scheduled to leave office.

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