Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot while participating in a political campaign in Nara on July 8th. Abe was in the city to raise support for the upcoming parliamentary elections. He was reported to have been conscious and responsive during the few minutes after the assault but soon after his condition declined rapidly. 

Japan is a country where gun violence rate is extremely low and the news of the influential former leader being gunned down sent shock waves throughout Japan.