Japan ex-PM in "grave condition" after being shot during election campaign 

Tokyo: Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is reportedly in grave condition after being shot during a political campaign event Friday and was airlifted to a hospital. 

According to details, Mr Abe was shot twice while he was giving a stump speech for a political candidate in Nara at a road junction. 

He immediately collapsed and was rushed to the nearest hospital. 

Pictures taken at the scene showed him bleeding.

Trigger warning ⚠️ Gunshot ⚠️

The moment of the shots on #abeshinzo

New pieces of Information:

- the black wrapping on the ground is not yet identified

- the gun seems to have been handmade #安倍晋三 #shinzoabe #ShinzoAbeShot #japan #japannews pic.twitter.com/XizWpXjNaK

— TheTokyoFoodie🍡 (@TheTokyoFoodie) July 8, 2022

Security officials at the scene tackled the gunman, and the 41-year-old suspect, who made no attempt to run, is now in police custody.

In an emotional press conference a few hours later, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that Mr Abe was in a "very grave condition". 

"Currently doctors are doing everything they can," said Mr Kishida who appeared to be holding back tears, adding that he was "praying from his heart" that Mr Abe would survive. 

He also condemned the attack, saying: "It is barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated".

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency confirmed that Mr Abe had a bullet wound on the right of his neck, and also suffered subcutaneous bleeding under the left part of his chest.

It is unclear if both shots hit him, or if a bullet hit him on the neck and travelled elsewhere. 

Ex-Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe had earlier said in a tweet that Mr Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest. The term is often used before a death is officially confirmed in Japan. 

Eyewitnesses said they saw a man carrying what they described as a large gun and firing twice at Mr Abe from behind.

The suspect has been identified as Nara resident Tetsuya Yamagami. Local media reports say he is believed to be a former member of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japan's equivalent of a navy.

Gun violence is very rare in Japan as weapons are extremely difficult to own, and incidents of political violence are almost unheard of.

The shooting of such a prominent figure is profoundly shocking in a country that prides itself on being so safe.

Mr Abe, who was Japan's longest-serving prime minister, held office in 2006 for a year and then again from 2012 to 2020, before stepping down citing health reasons.

He later revealed that he had suffered a relapse of ulcerative colitis, an intestinal disease.

While he was in office, he was known for his hawkish policies on defence and foreign policy, and has long sought to amend Japan's pacifist post-war constitution.

In 2014, there were just six incidents of gun deaths in Japan, as compared to 33,599 in the US. 

In Japan, people have to undergo a strict exam and mental health tests in order to buy a gun - and even then, only shotguns and air rifles are allowed.