Japan’s ex-leader Shinzo Abe assassinated while giving speech
The doctor at the press conference says Shinzo Abe bled to death after his team tried for hours to save his life.
Tributes to Shinzo Abe from world leaders have started pouring in after the former Japanese prime minister’s death was confirmed.
Shinzo Abe died in the hospital where he was receiving medical treatment, near to the attack in Nara.
Abe, 67, who remains Japan’s longest serving prime minister, was shot while giving a campaign speech.
The suspected attacker – reported to be a man in his 40s – was tackled at the scene and arrested.
The doctor at the press conference says medics spent four and a half hours treating Abe.
They tried to stop the bleeding and carried out a blood transfusion, using more than 100 units of blood, he says.
He confirms there were two wounds, believed to be bullet wounds, but he said doctors could not find bullets during surgery.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “shocked and saddened beyond words at the tragic demise of one of my dearest friends, Shinzo Abe”.
Modi described Abe as a “towering global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a remarkable administrator”.
“He dedicated his life to make Japan and the world a better place,” Modi added.
Former Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott, who worked closely with Abe, described him as Japan’s “most significant post-war leader”.
“Under Abe, Japan assumed its rightful place as the leading democracy of the western Pacific,” he tweeted.
Mr Abbott added: “This is a dreadful loss for Japan, for Australia and for a world where democracies stand strong and together.”
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