The former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated during a campaign event near Osaka on Friday. He was 67.
The suspected gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was tackled and arrested at the scene, per BBC News. Police said he admitted to having a grudge against a “specific organization,” which he thought Abe was connected to.
Abe belonged to the Liberal Democratic Party and served in the office of prime minister for eight years before stepping down in 2020, the longest term served by a prime minister in Japan, per The Washington Post.
President Joe Biden addressed the killing of the former Japanese prime minister on Friday.
“I am stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened by the news that my friend Abe Shinzo, former Prime Minister of Japan, was shot and killed while campaigning,” Biden said in a statement.
During his time as vice president, Biden worked with Abe, visiting him in Tokyo and receiving him in Washington.
“He was a champion of the alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people,” he said, adding that Abe’s “vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific will endure.”
“Above all, he cared deeply about the Japanese people and dedicated his life to their service,” said Biden. “Even at the moment he was attacked, he was engaged in the work of democracy.”
“The United States stands with Japan in this moment of grief. I send my deepest condolences to his family,” he concluded.
According to CNN, Japan reported one death due to firearms in 2021, with a total of 10 gun-related incidents that year.