Obituary | Shinzo Abe sought to reinvigorate Japan with bold economic policies, strong armed forces

Shizo Abe, who left office in 2020, was shot and killed on Friday during an election campaign speech

Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, who sought to lift the economy out of chronic deflation with his bold "Abenomics" policies, beef up the military and counter China's growing clout, has died at 67.

Abe, who left office in 2020, was shot and killed on Friday during an election campaign speech in an attack his protege and incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called "absolutely unforgivable".

The lawmaker first became premier in 2006, lasting just a year before returning for a rare second stint in 2012 pledging to revive a stagnant economy, loosen the limits of a post-World War Two pacifist constitution and restore traditional values.

He was instrumental in winning the 2020 Olympics for Tokyo, cherishing a wish to preside over the Games and even appeared as Nintendo video game character Mario during the Olympic handover at Rio, the 2016 host.

Abe became Japan's longest-serving premier in November 2019, but by summer 2020, support had been eroded by his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak as well as a series of scandals including the arrest of his former justice minister.

He resigned in September of that year without achieving his long-held goal of revising the constitution or presiding over the Games, which had been postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic.

But he remained a dominant presence over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), controlling one of its major factions. He was campaigning for an Upper House election two days later when he was assassinated.