Former and longest serving Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, has been assassinated.
He was shot and killed by a lone gunman with a homemade gun during election campaign while he was delivering a speech.
He was 67. The motive for the killing is not yet known.
According to Japanese news outlets, the gun man opened fire on Abe from behind, while he was delivering a speech at a drab traffic island in the western city of Nara on Friday morning.
The hospital that tried to save him said he died at 5:03 p.m. (0803 GMT), about five and a half hours after he was shot. A doctor said Abe had bled to death from two deep wounds, one on the right side of his neck. He had no vital signs when he was brought in.
Abe was a prominent figure in the international stage. He resigned from office when his political party was plagued by corruption scandals.
Japan has a relaxed security arrangement for public office holders and one of the most restrictive gun regulations in the world. As a result, gun-related violence is very rare in Japan.
As per Reuters, it was the first assassination of a sitting or former Japanese premier since the days of prewar militarism in the 1930s.
