Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, is dead after being shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election; reports suggest a man with what appeared to be a homemade gun opened fired on him.
Friday 8 July 2022 17:45, UK
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Tetsuya Yamagami has told local police that his grudge against Shinzo Abe was not about politics.
Police earlier said the suspect told officers he had a grudge against a specific organisation and believed the former prime minister was part of that organisation.
They chose not to name the organisation.
US President Joe Biden has responded to the killing of his "friend" Shinzo Abe, calling it a "tragedy".
"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," he said in a statement.
"This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him."
He added: "Even at the moment he was attacked, he was engaged in the work of democracy."
Footage and witnesses have managed to piece together exactly what happened in the minutes leading up to and when Shinzo Abe was shot.
As Abe spoke at an intersection outside the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, roads were not blocked off and a bus and van passed behind the former Japanese prime minister.
A crowd of a few hundred had gathered, and inside a passing hatchback car a person waved in excited recognition at Abe.
Dressed in a dark jacket despite the heat, Abe called on the crowd to re-elect candidate Kei Sato in this weekend's upper house election.
Members of Japan's equivalent of the secret service stood around him.
Then, a slim man in a grey T-shirt and beige cargo trousers came from behind Abe and opened fire, sending a cloud of white smoke into the crowd.
Businessman Makoto Ichikawa, who had been near the train station waiting for his wife, said the gunman "came out of nowhere onto the middle of the road holding a gun".
"The first shot no one knew what was going on," he said, describing how the attacker was tackled to the ground after the second shot.
By then, Abe lay crumpled on the ground and blood was seen staining his white shirt.
Ken Namikawa, the mayor of Nara's Tenri city, called out over a microphone asking if there were any doctors or nurses in the crowd.
A nurse ran over and began attending to Abe.
More handmade guns similar to the one used in the fatal attack on Shinzo Abe were seized at the suspects home, Nara officials have told a news conference.
Tetsuya Yamagami is believed to have travelled to the location where the former leader was speaking by train before opening fire.
Police said the suspect told officers that he had a grudge against a specific organisation and believed Abe was part of that organisation.
They declined to name the organisation.
They said Yamagami had admitted to the shooting.
The Dalai Lama has written to Shinzo Abe's wife following his death in a shooting on Friday.
The spiritual leader said: "I am deeply saddened to hear that my friend, Mr Abe Shinzo has passed away following a gunshot attack this morning.
"I pray for him and offer my condolences to you and members of your family.
"As you know, your late husband was a steadfast friend of the Tibetan people.
"I very much appreciated his friendship and support of our efforts to preserve our rich Buddhist cultural heritage and identity."
The 87-year-old further added: "Mr Abe truly lived a meaningful life in the service of others."
Polls in Japan will open as planned this weekend despite the killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe two days before the vote.
The country's Upper House is due for election on Sunday, but the killing has sparked questions about security.
However The Japan Times reports that the vote will still go ahead.
Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters that election campaigning would be held as scheduled on Saturday "to show that (we) will not succumb to violence."
Nonetheless, the shooting has disrupted election campaigning, causing major parties and cabinet ministers to cancel their events.
Shinzo Abe's body is to be taken to his home, Japanese TV are reporting.
His body could be moved to his home in Toyko as soon as Saturday, it is thought.
People have been seen laying flowers at the scene of the shooting, as Japan reels from a rare shooting that has shocked the country.
Mourners were pictured crouching in front of a barrier and bowing their heads.
The fatal shooting of Shinzo Abe has shocked Japan, known as one of the safest countries in the world, local journalist Kaori Enjoji tells Sky News.
"He is from a political dynasty: His father was foreign minister, his grandfather was a prime minister.
"And he is still very, very influential."
Asked about Japan's strict gun controls, she continued: "Policemen carry guns, but I think most people go through their entire life without ever seeing a gun drawn in public.
"So there may be a gun control debate raging in the United States and elsewhere, but it is non-existent in Japan."
