Man arrested for attempted murder after former Japan PM Shinzo Abe shot: Report

TOKYO: A man was arrested for attempted murder after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was apparently shot on Friday while delivering a stump speech, local media reported.The man appeared to be in his 40s and a gun had been confiscated, said public broadcaster NHK, citing police sources. Local police were not immediately able to comment when contacted by AFP.Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, held office in 2006 for one year and again from 2012 to 2020, when he was forced to step down due to the debilitating bowel condition ulcerative colitis.Japan has some of the world's toughest gun-control laws, and annual deaths from firearms in the country of 125 million people are regularly in single figures.Getting a gun licence is a long and complicated process even for Japanese citizens, who must first get a recommendation from a shooting association and then undergo strict police checks.