July 8, 2022 Shinzo Abe shot dead in Nara, Japan

Police in Nara, Japan, will hold a news conference on the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe died on Friday after being shot while giving a campaign speech on a street in central Japan, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Abe died from excessive bleeding and was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m. local time, doctors at the Nara Medical University hospital said during a news conference on Friday. The doctors said the bullet that killed the former Japanese leader was "deep enough to reach his heart" and a team of 20 medical professionals were unable to stop the bleeding.

Abe went into cardiopulmonary arrest at the site of the shooting and was rushed to hospital in a state of cardiac arrest at 12:20 p.m. local time, doctors said. During surgery, doctors discovered a bullet wound to his neck and a large wound on his heart.

Abe, 67, was the former Liberal Democratic Party leader and Japan's longest-serving prime minister, holding office from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020, before resigning due to health reasons. Since stepping down, he remained in the public eye and regularly appeared in the media to discuss current affairs.

CNN's Helen Regan and Junko Ogura contributed reporting to this post.

The assassination of Shinzo Abe took place in broad daylight on a street in the Japanese city of Nara, a regional capital just east of Osaka.

Abe was delivering a speech in support of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates ahead of the upcoming Upper House elections scheduled for Sunday.

He had planned to head to Kyoto next, then to Saitama prefecture neighboring the capital Tokyo.

Video aired by the public broadcaster captured the moments before the shooting, showing the former prime minister speaking to a small crowd in front of Yamatosaidaiji railway station. In subsequent videos, two shots can be heard and smoke can be seen in the air.

Kazuto Suzuki, professor of public policy at Hokkaido University, told CNN’s Max Foster that Shinzo Abe “left a lot of legacies in Japan and the world.”

He “very successfully transformed Japan into a modern state fitting into this globalizing world ... after the subprime crisis,” Suzuki said, adding that the former prime minister helped to recover the country from deflation through “Abenomics.”

“He also tried to change the constitution -- although he was not successful -- but he introduced the legislation on peace and security, which allows the partial implementation of the collective self-defense, which were for the last 70 years was was not allowed to have under the interpretation of our constitution,” he added. 

He was “trying to bring the United States, Australia and India [into] the effort of counterbalancing [and] counter-measuring with [the] emergence of China in East Asia," Suzuki said.

Michelle Lee, The Washington Post’s Tokyo bureau chief, told CNN that the best way to describe Abe is as “a towering political figure both at home and abroad.”

“He was the youngest prime minister to be elected. He was the longest serving prime minister. He said so many things and created some controversies and scandals, but he was incredibly influential,” Lee said.

Read more on Abe here.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a personal letter of condolences to the family of assassinated former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe on Friday, calling him “an outstanding statesman.”

“Please accept my deepest condolences on the passing of your son and husband, Shinzo Abe,” Putin wrote in the letter, addressed to Abe’s mother and wife.

Colombian President Ivan Duque also expressed deep regret on behalf of Colombians, writing in a tweet: "We will always remember him as a leader very close to Colombia. Solidarity with his family and the Japanese people."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a tweet he was “stunned and deeply saddened” by Abe's death, saying the country will "stand close to Japan."

Israel's leaders also spoke out, with Prime Minister Yair Lapid praising Abe as "one of the most important leaders of modern Japan, and a true friend of Israel." Israel's President Isaac Herzog also released a statement, saying he was "horrified by the despicable murder of Shinzo Abe, one of Japan's most preeminent leaders in modern times."

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid his “deepest condolences” to former leader Shinzo Abe on Friday, saying he “was a personal friend, with whom I spent a lot of time.”

Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Kishida said he had “great respect for the legacy (Abe) left behind,” adding he had received a lot of advice from his predecessor and was grateful for his warm support.

Kishida said he will continue campaigning tomorrow, ahead of Upper House elections scheduled for Sunday, adding that a free and fair vote must be defended at all costs.

Abe had been delivering a campaign speech, supporting candidates from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, when he was shot in Nara on Friday.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his shock and sorrow for the death of Shinzo Abe in a statement released by the presidential office late Friday afternoon.

"I extend my condolences to the bereaved family and the Japanese people who have lost the longest-serving Prime Minister and a respected politician in the history of Japan's constitution," President Yoon said, according to the statement.

The news of Shinzo Abe's assassination has prompted messages of shock and condolences from foreign leaders, many of whom worked with Abe during the former Prime Minister's long tenure.

"His global leadership through unchartered times will be remembered by many," wrote British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a tweet. "My thoughts are with his family, friends and the Japanese people. The UK stands with you at this dark and sad time."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also tweeted his condolences, calling the shooting "an attack on democracy" and "a shameful act of cowardice to silence a political leader."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that as a mark of "our deepest respect," India will hold a day of national mourning on Saturday. Abe was "a towering global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a remarkable administrator," said Modi, adding that his relationship with Abe "goes back many years."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Abe had been a "great friend and ally to Australia," and told the people of Japan, "We mourn with you."

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Abe "a wonderful person," adding: "This brutal and cowardly murder of Shinzo Abe shocks the whole world."

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was born on September 21, 1954, in Tokyo, to a prominent political family. Both his grandfather and great uncle served as prime minister, and his father was a former secretary general of the right-leaning Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

He studied politics at Tokyo's Seiki University and the University of Southern California, but initially entered business, taking a position with Kobe Steel in 1979. Three years later, he became an assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Abe was first elected to Japan's House of Representatives in 1993, at age 38. He held a number of cabinet positions throughout the 2000s, and in 2003 became secretary general of the LDP. Four years later, he was named the party's president and became prime minister of Japan.

His first term was marred by controversies and worsening health, and he stepped down as party leader and prime minister in 2007. The end of Abe's first term opened a revolving door in which five different men held the prime minister post in five years until his re-election in 2012. He stepped down in 2020 citing ill health.

Abe died on Friday age 67 after being shot in Nara.

Read more about Abe's life and career.

Shinzo Abe, who died on Friday after being shot in Nara, served two separate terms as Japanese leader for the right-leaning Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)

He first served from 2006 to 2007, then again from 2012 until 2020. His second stint was the longest consecutive term for a Japanese head of government.

Worsening China ties: During his term, Abe sought to improve relations with Beijing, while trying to counter Chinese expansion in the region by uniting Pacific allies.

After leaving office, Abe remained head of the largest faction of the ruling LDP and maintained influence within the party. Last year, he angered China by calling for a greater commitment from allies to defend democracy in Taiwan. In response, Beijing summoned Japan's ambassador and accused Abe of openly challenging China's sovereignty.

Spat with South Korea: Tokyo's ties with Beijing and Seoul also soured during Abe's time in office. Japan and South Korea were engaged in a major dispute in which trade and military intelligence deals were scrapped, partly due to the legacy of World War II and Japan's brutal colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

Moving toward the US: Abe was a prominent figure on the world stage, attempting to build a personal relationship with then-US President Donald Trump. He traveled to New York to meet the newly elected Republican President while former President Barack Obama was still in office — Trump's first meeting with any world leader.

Read Abe's obituary here.