Former Japan prime minister, Shinzo Abe has been shot during a campaign in a province of Nara, 9News Nigeria has learnt on Friday.
According to local broadcaster NHK, Shinzo Abe collapsed and was taken to hospital after he was reportedly shot in the back while rendering a speech.
Abe who is currently 67 years old was campaigning on Friday in the city of Nara in western Japan when shots were heard in the vicinity. Kyodo News reports that a person has been arrested following the incident. Follow the page for the latest updates.
A Japanese government spokesperson and chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot at about 11:30 a.m. in the prefecture of Nara.
“Former prime minister Abe’s condition is not currently known, and we are checking the situation,” Matsuno told reporters at an emergency news briefing at the prime minister’s office.
Authorities have arrested one man who appeared to have shot Abe, 67, in the back during a campaign and it has not been ascertained why the attack was carried out, though a source said the man was linked to a Japanese dreaded cult group, Yakuza.
9News Nigeria/Reuters
