Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot this morning while campaigning for a parliamentary election in the Nara region.

The NHK broadcaster and the Kyodo news agency reported Abe’s death on Friday, hours after the 67-year-old was shot in the chest and the neck.

DIPLOMATIC DIARY had reported that the Abe was shot twice in the chest by a lone gun man in Nara during a campaign event in Western Japan on Friday. 

Officials said Abe was shot at about 11:30am (02:30 GMT while he was delivering a campaign speech on the street near a train station in Nara.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, had confirmed earlier that the former PM suffered a heart failure following the shooting.

 Kishida condemned the shooting, adding that it was an unacceptable attack on the foundation of Japan’s democracy.

Police said the a 41-year-old man,  Tetsuya Yamagami, suspected of carrying out the shooting had been arrested

NHK quoted the suspect, as telling police he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him.

The attack was a shock in a country that’s one of the world’s safest and with some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere.

U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emmanuel said on Twitter, “We are all saddened and shocked by the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and unwavering ally of the U.S. The U.S. Government and American people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, & people of Japan.”. 

Abe, 67,  served as Japan’s prime minister from December 2012 to September 2020, making him the country’s longest serving prime minister. He resigned in September 2020 due to health problems.