Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been shot while giving a speech in the city of Nara, officials said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Friday that he did not know Abe's condition, but public broadcaster NHK, citing the local fire department, said the 67-year-old "is not showing vital signs".
Matsuno said Abe was shot at around 11:30 a.m. (02:30 GMT) and said "such an act of barbarism cannot be tolerated."
NHK, citing Japanese police, said Abe appeared to have been shot in the back with a shotgun and said its reporter at the scene heard "what sounded like a gun being fired twice".
The broadcaster released footage showing Abe slumped in the street, with several security guards running towards him. Abe was clutching his chest when he collapsed, his shirt stained with blood.
The agency said the former prime minister, who was in Nara to campaign ahead of Sunday's upper house election, was attacked on a street near Yamatosaidaiji Station in Nara.
A 41-year-old suspect has been detained on suspicion of attempted murder, NHK said. The suspect, who was identified as Yamagami Tetsuya, was carrying a gun, which police confiscated, she added, writes Al Jazeera.
Abe served as Prime Minister of Japan from December 2012 to September 2020, making him the country's longest-serving prime minister