Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died after being gunned down this morning in the city of Nara.. This is reported by NHK and Kyodo, citing officials..

This morning, Abe was shot twice in the back as he was campaigning for the Liberal Democratic Party.. The bloodied ex-premier was taken to the hospital in serious condition, he died.

The suspected shooter, 41-year-old Nara resident Tetsuya Yamagami, was detained in the case.. According to agency sources, he previously served in the Japanese Navy..

The exact motives behind Abe's murder are still unknown.. The suspect said that he "

The current Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, urgently interrupted the election campaign in Yamagata Prefecture and returned to Tokyo.. He strongly condemned the execution of Abe and said that "

Abe was Prime Minister of Japan from 2006-2007 and 2012-2020. He set a record for the time in power and left the post due to illness.

During his second term, he pursued an economic policy that was called " It was marked by monetary easing, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms to fight deflation and change the country's stagnant economy..

Abe also tried to reform the pacifist defense policy that was in the country after World War II.. In particular, his administration strengthened defense engagement with the United States, undertook a new interpretation of the Constitution to allow the use of collective self-defense even without attacking Japan itself, and expanded the role of the Self-Defense Forces in 2016..