New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday July 8 said he was “deeply distressed” over the attack on his “dear friend”, former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, who was shot at earlier in the day.
Taking to Twitter, Modi said: “Deeply distressed by the attack on my dear friend Abe Shinzo. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family, and the people of Japan.”
Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, collapsed after he was shot at while addressing en election rally in Nara city on Friday, state media said in a report, adding that the police have arrested a 41-year-old suspect.
According to state broadcaster NHK, the incident took place at around 11. 30 a.m. (local time) near the Yamatosaidaiji Station in Nara city while the 67-year-old former leader was making a speech for a Liberal Democratic Party candidate’s election campaign.
Abe did not appear to show any life signs following the attack, and is presently hospitalised.