(Kyodo News via AP)
By MARI YAMAGUCHI, CHISATO TANAKA and FOSTER KLUG Associated Press
NARA, Japan (AP) — Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of Japan’s most powerful politicians, has died after being shot during a campaign speech. Abe was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech Friday in Nara in western Japan. He was airlifted to a hospital for emergency treatment but was not breathing and his heart had stopped. He was pronounced dead later at the hospital. The 67-year-old Abe was Japan’s longest-serving leader before stepping down for health reasons in 2020. Police arrested the suspected gunman at the scene of the attack, which shocked people in a country known as one of the world’s safest.