• Shinzo Abe was shot and killed on Thursday in the western city of Nara.
• The attacker, a former member of the Japanese navy, confessed to the murder on Friday.
• Police say he believed Abe had ties to an unnamed organisation.

The body of Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was returned to Tokyo on Saturday, one day after he was murdered by a former soldier. He was attacked in the western Japanese city of Nara.

After the attack, he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died because he had lost so much blood from his injuries.

The attacker, a former member of the Japanese navy, was detained at the site by police. The 41-year-old has been named as Tetsuya Yamagami, per an AFP report.

The police announced on Friday that he had confessed to the crime because he believed Abe had ties to an unnamed organisation.

Abe was shot while giving a speech in Nara. The upper house elections are on Sunday, and campaigning started up again on Saturday.

Shinzo Abe served as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, from December 2012 to September 2020. He previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2007.

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His assassination has sent shockwaves throughout Japan and the rest of the world, with his followers condemning the attack and foreign leaders expressing indignation and sorrow.

Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, described the murder as “barbaric” and “unforgivable.” Kishida added that he was “lost for words”.

He is set to pay his respects at Abe’s Tokyo mansion on Saturday.

US president Joe Biden also grieved Abe’s passing, saying he was “stunned, outraged and deeply saddened.”

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