Police arrested a suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, after Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, collapsed and later succumbed to his injuries having been shot on Friday (July 8) while giving a speech in western Japan.
Mr Abe, 67, was assassinated after he was shot twice in the city of Nara near Kyoto. The Nara city fire department said the former premier suffered wounds on the right side of his neck and left clavicle. Doctors pronounced the former premier dead at 5.03pm local time.
The suspect Yamagami, 41, was a Nara resident. Images shared on social media showed a man being tackled after the shooting near Yamato-Saidaiji Station, with the man dropping his suspected weapon to the ground upon being apprehended.
The bespectacled man, wearing a mask like most in the crowd, appeared to be dressed in a grey polo shirt and khaki cargo trousers, with a blue messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He was captured in video clips on social media standing behind Mr Abe.
Media reports said Yamagami was formerly a member of the Maritime Self-Defence Force, also known as the Japanese Navy, and left the force in 2005 having served for around three years.
The unemployed Yamagami told officers he had used a handmade gun to fire at Mr Abe, Japanese police said on Friday. They said it was made with a mix of metal and wood, with the gun measuring about 40cm long and 20cm wide.
“That’s the suspect’s assertion, and we have determined that (the gun) is clearly handmade in appearance, although our analysis is currently ongoing,” a police officer in Nara told reporters.