Boris Johnson pays tribute to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who has been shot dead
Boris Johnson has paid tribute to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe who has died after being shot at a campaign event.
The former leader in Tokyo was shot while giving an election campaign speech in Nara, western Japan, on Friday.
Local reports said he didn’t recover from being a “severe” condition as he was given blood transfusions.
Local fire service official Makoto Morimoto said the 67-year-old Mr Abe was not breathing and his heart had stopped while being airlifted to hospital.
The public broadcaster NHK aired footage showing Mr Abe collapsed on the street, with several security guards running toward him. He was bleeding and holding his chest.
Boris Johnson paid tribute, writing on Twitter in both English and Japanese: “Incredibly sad news about Shinzo Abe. His global leadership through unchartered times will be remembered by many. My thoughts are with his family, friends and the Japanese people. The UK stands with you at this dark and sad time.”
Meanwhile, foreign secretary Liz Truss added she was “devastated to hear about the attack on former Prime Minister Abe. We stand with our Japanese friends at this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends”.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters: “A barbaric act like this is absolutely unforgivable, no matter what the reasons are, and we condemn it strongly.”
Mr Abe was reportedly shot a few minutes after he started talking outside of a main train station in western Nara.
The popular former leader is still influential in the governing Liberal Democratic Party and heads its largest faction, Seiwakai.
Elections for Japan’s upper house, the less powerful chamber of its parliament, will take place on Sunday.
Mr Abe was giving a speech when people heard gunshots. He was holding his chest when he collapsed, his shirt smeared with blood, but was able to speak before he fell unconscious.
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.