TOKYO: Japanese police on Friday named the suspected killer of former prime minister Shinzo Abe as unemployed 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, who told officers he had used a handmade gun.
"That's the suspect's assertion, and we have determined that (the gun) is clearly handmade in appearance, although our analysis is currently ongoing," a police officer in Nara region, where the assassination took place, told reporters.
The murder of the 67-year-old, who had been Japan's longest-serving leader, stunned the nation and prompted an international outpouring of grief and condemnation.
Abe was shot shortly before noon while campaigning in the western region of Nara ahead of weekend upper house elections.
He was flown by helicopter to the Nara Medical University hospital where he was pronounced dead several hours later.
"Shinzo Abe was transported to (the hospital) at 12:20 pm. He was in a state of cardiac arrest upon arrival," said Hidetada Fukushima, professor of emergency medicine at the hospital.
"Resuscitation was administered. However, unfortunately, he died at 5:03 pm."
Fukushima said Abe had suffered two gunshot wounds to the neck and died of massive blood loss.
It was all the more shocking given Japan's strict gun laws and low rates of violent crime, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida describing it as a "barbaric act" that was "absolutely unforgivable."
A visibly emotional Kishida told reporters after Abe's death was confirmed that he was "lost for words"