Gunman assassinates Japan's former PM Abe

In a country where gun violence is rare, Shinzo Abe, Japan's former prime minister, died on Friday after being shot twice by an ex-member of the country's Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Abe, 67, who had been the nation's longest-serving prime minister, was giving a campaign speech on behalf of a Liberal Democratic Party candidate in the western city of Nara when the incident happened. Japan's upper house election will be held on Sunday, in which half of the total 248 seats are being contested.

According to the local fire department, Abe was shot at around 11:30 am and social media footage showed him collapsed and bleeding on the ground.

He was then transferred to a local hospital by helicopter where doctors said on Friday evening that Abe had been pronounced dead there shortly after 5 pm.

Nara police named the suspect as Tetsuya Yamagami, a local man with no known occupation. Yamagami served in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force from 2002 to 2005, Japan's defense ministry said.

The shooting has surprised Japan and many others. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was "shocked".

After Abe's death was announced, the Chinese embassy in Japan expressed its condolences.

"Former prime minister Abe had made contributions towards improving China-Japan relations during his term. We express our condolences on his death and send our sympathies to his family," the embassy said in a statement on its website.