SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A man looks at a television broadcast showing news of the attack on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on July 8, 2022. (Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
Japan's Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Assassinated on Campaign Trail
"I am greatly shocked to hear that former Prime Minister Abe was shot today," said a campaigner with 350 Japan. "Such violence is unacceptable."
Jul 08, 2022
This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot Friday as he delivered a campaign speech on behalf of a member of his party just days ahead of the country's parliamentary elections.
Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was rushed to a hospital with wounds to his neck and left collarbone, apparently inflicted by a blast from a homemade shotgun. Hours later, news broke of Abe's passing.
Police arrested the suspected gunman on the scene. The Financial Times reported that authorities in Nara, where the shooting took place, "named the suspect as Tetsuya Yamagami, a resident of the city, with no known occupation. According to the defense ministry, he served in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force from 2002 to 2005."
"This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections--the very foundation of our democracy--and is absolutely unforgivable," said current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
"I am greatly shocked to hear that former Prime Minister Abe was shot today," said Takayoshi Yokoyama, a climate campaigner with 350 Japan. "Such violence is unacceptable. 350 Japan condemns any forms of violence, and we seek solutions to the climate crisis through peaceful, non-violent citizen action."
The shooting prompted expressions of outrage and grief from world leaders.
Iran's Foreign Ministry dubbed the assassination "an act of terrorism" and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered his "resounding condemnation of this cowardly attack."
" Spain stands in solidarity with the Japanese people in these difficult times," Sanchez wrote in a Twitter post.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot Friday as he delivered a campaign speech on behalf of a member of his party just days ahead of the country's parliamentary elections.
Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was rushed to a hospital with wounds to his neck and left collarbone, apparently inflicted by a blast from a homemade shotgun. Hours later, news broke of Abe's passing.
Police arrested the suspected gunman on the scene. The Financial Times reported that authorities in Nara, where the shooting took place, "named the suspect as Tetsuya Yamagami, a resident of the city, with no known occupation. According to the defense ministry, he served in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force from 2002 to 2005."
"This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections--the very foundation of our democracy--and is absolutely unforgivable," said current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
"I am greatly shocked to hear that former Prime Minister Abe was shot today," said Takayoshi Yokoyama, a climate campaigner with 350 Japan. "Such violence is unacceptable. 350 Japan condemns any forms of violence, and we seek solutions to the climate crisis through peaceful, non-violent citizen action."
The shooting prompted expressions of outrage and grief from world leaders.
Iran's Foreign Ministry dubbed the assassination "an act of terrorism" and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered his "resounding condemnation of this cowardly attack."
" Spain stands in solidarity with the Japanese people in these difficult times," Sanchez wrote in a Twitter post.
This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot Friday as he delivered a campaign speech on behalf of a member of his party just days ahead of the country's parliamentary elections.
Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was rushed to a hospital with wounds to his neck and left collarbone, apparently inflicted by a blast from a homemade shotgun. Hours later, news broke of Abe's passing.
Police arrested the suspected gunman on the scene. The Financial Times reported that authorities in Nara, where the shooting took place, "named the suspect as Tetsuya Yamagami, a resident of the city, with no known occupation. According to the defense ministry, he served in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force from 2002 to 2005."
"This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections--the very foundation of our democracy--and is absolutely unforgivable," said current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
"I am greatly shocked to hear that former Prime Minister Abe was shot today," said Takayoshi Yokoyama, a climate campaigner with 350 Japan. "Such violence is unacceptable. 350 Japan condemns any forms of violence, and we seek solutions to the climate crisis through peaceful, non-violent citizen action."
The shooting prompted expressions of outrage and grief from world leaders.
Iran's Foreign Ministry dubbed the assassination "an act of terrorism" and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered his "resounding condemnation of this cowardly attack."
" Spain stands in solidarity with the Japanese people in these difficult times," Sanchez wrote in a Twitter post.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.