This happened in Nara City not too far from my wife’s hometown (Kashihara, Nara Prefecture).
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It happened right in front of Kintetsu Yamato Saidaiji Station, which is (IIRC) the biggest station in all of Nara Prefecture. I’m sure that your wife and in-laws have been there.
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The world is really getting crazy-cray-cray these days! Now isn’t a good time to joke around, but I can’t help but go to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels for this scene where Dog yells out “I don’t fucking believe this! Could everyone stop gettin’ shot?!?”
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Nara Prefectural Police have issued a statement saying that it was a pistol and not a shotgun as originally thought. They are saying that it was an automatic pistol, which is not legal in Japan. One would really need some kind of underworld connections to get that kind of gun in Japan. (Even police carry revolvers.)
Mr. Abe is still fighting for his life and in mortal danger according to the latest reporting.
ETA: I am seeing conflicting reports on the gun. Some outlets are suggesting that the gun was homemade.
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My father in law is at the same hospital Abe was brought to. He was getting an oncologist checkup there. He’s saying there are helicopters all around.
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A few updates:
We still do not know much about Tetsuya Yamagami, except that he does not appear to have a prior criminal record and he apparently served in the Maritime Self Defense Force.
It is being reported that somebody called LDP offices in Nara Prefecture asking about where Abe would be making stops on the campaign trail, only to hang up the phone when asked to identify himself. Other than that, there do not appear to have been any threats.
The National Police Agency has established a task force, and I am hearing that Prefectural Police in neighboring Kyoto are setting up checkpoints at major train stations and highway onramps in case there are accomplices still out there. The police have not ruled out the possibility of further political attacks.
Prime Minister Kishida has ordered cabinet members to return to Tokyo from the campaign trail.
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The Fire Defense Agency (which also handles ambulance and rescue services) is describing Shinzo Abe’s injuries as “a gunshot wound on the right side of the neck” and “subcutaneous bleeding on the left side of the chest.” Evidently, he is being treated in the ICU, which I believe suggests that he is not undergoing surgery right now.
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There has been an outpouring of support from current and former world leaders who worked with Shinzo Abe when he was in power. Even Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed his sympathies.
Shinzo Abe was famously just about the only foreign leader with whom Donald Trump got along, and so Trump has posted on Truth Social what is probably the nicest thing that he has ever said about anyone other than himself: “Absolutely devastating news that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, a truly great man and leader, has been shot, and is in very serious condition. He was a true friend of mine and, much more importantly, America. This is a tremendous blow to the wonderful people of Japan, who loved and admired him so much. We are all praying for Shinzo and his beautiful family!” (I sure as hell am not going to post a link to Truth Social, and I am getting this quote from Business Insider.)
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AIUI, Abe is an ass. Which does not excuse or justify this assassination attempt in any way. Dammit, people! 
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I certainly was not a fan of Abe when he was in power, but this is really quite shocking to me as a newly minted Japanese citizen who went through all the trouble of obtaining citizenship to get away from this kind of thing.
The authorities and the press have not found any evidence so far of any ideological motive for the shooting, and it is still possible that this was just a Travis Bickle wannabe. I want to avoid jumping to any conclusions about the motives because there is already a lot of conspiracy bullshit flying around on social media here, and it is pretty ugly stuff that I am not going to repeat here (at least not until and unless things settle down).
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Update:
The assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, is apparently talking to the police. He has confessed that he did intend to kill Shinzo Abe, but claims that he did not have any kind of animosity based on political leanings. He says that he just did not like Abe’s attitude. (The word that I am translating as “attitude” (態度) can be interpreted as meaning something about the way Abe talks or how he acts. It is broader than the English word, is what I’m saying.)
The police have confirmed that the gun used was homemade.
ETA: Yamagami is now giving conflicting statements. He said that he originally went to kill a leader of a religious organization (named to the police, but not in the press), but went for Abe when his target didn’t show up. He is also making nonsensical statements, and Nara Prefectural Police are trying to assess his mental faculties.
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These are the police entering Yamagami’s apartment building in Nara, which they think might possibly be booby trapped.
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The hospital just held a press conference. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was declared dead at 5:03pm. The cause of death was blood loss after being shot twice. Both shots hit his neck, and one came near his heart, but both bullets evidently passed through. All the doctors could do was try to stop the bleeding and give him transfusions, but it wasn’t enough.
The police have evidently found a possible explosive device in Yamagami’s apartment and they have called in a bomb squad to dispose of it.
Today is a very dark day for Japan.
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American right wingers are praising the assassin on social media because of Japan’s strict firearms laws
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Do they actually believe in anything? I assumed they would be in mourning, having lost an ally.
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These people aren’t that smart. More focused on trying to win an argument for their brand of chaos at home than anything else.
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