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Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has reportedly collapsed bleeding after being shot while campaigning on a street in Nara, in the country's west.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK has reported Abe was shot and is suffering heart failure.

NHK reported Abe was rushed to a hospital, showing footage of a helicopter leaving from near the scene of the incident.

READ MORE: Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe shot while giving speech

Who is Shinzo Abe?

Shinzo Abe is a Japanese politician who was the longest-serving minister in the country's history.

He was briefly in office from 2006 to 2007 as Prime Minister but was forced to resign due to medical complications from ulcerative colitis.

Undeterred, he was once again elected in September 2012 and stayed in office until September 2020.

He resigned once again, citing health reasons.

What are Shinzo Abe's politics?

Abe is a conservative. He is a political blue blood who was groomed to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi. 

His political rhetoric often focused on making Japan a "normal" and "beautiful" nation with a stronger military and bigger role in international affairs.

His push to normalise Japan's defensive posture angered some parts of the population.

Supporters of Abe said that his legacy was a stronger US-Japan relationship that was meant to bolster Japan's defense capability. But Abe made enemies too by forcing his defense goals and other contentious issues through parliament, despite strong public opposition.

How old is Shinzo Abe?

Shinzo Abe is 67.

Does Shinzo Abe have family?

Yes. He is married to Akie Matsuzaki, the daughter of the president of a well-known Japanese chocolate factory.

The couple have no children.

Abe's brothers are also well connected in Japan.

His elder brother Hironobu Abe became the president of Mitsubishi Shoji Packaging Corporation, and his younger brother Nobuo Kishi is the senior vice-minister for foreign affairs.

Why was Shinzo Abe giving a speech in Nara?

Abe was in Nara campaigning ahead of Sunday's election for the parliament's upper house.

With wires.

James Church has been found dead the day before a verdict was due to be handed down over the alleged murder of his ex-lover a decade ago.

Church was charged in 2018 with allegedly murdering his 23-year-old ex-lover Leisl Smith in 2012, whose body has never been found.

Smith's car was found abandoned at Tuggerah railway station, on the NSW Central Coast, more than a month after she vanished from her nearby Wallarah home.

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Church denied murdering Smith.

After a lengthy murder trial in the NSW Supreme Court, Justice Elizabeth Fullerton due to deliver her verdict today.

The 51-year-old's body was discovered at a property near Bingara.

The court heard Church took his own life.

READ MORE: World's most famous UFO case won't go away 75 years later

Fullerton told Smith's family she can not hand down the verdict as planned because the accused had died.

"The law simply does not allow me to return a verdict," Fullerton said.

She acknowledged that will be difficult to accept.

Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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