Abe in 'grave condition' - Japanese PM

JULY 8: Shinzo Abe has been taken to hospital and is in a "very grave condition" Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said.

Kishida said he is "praying from his heart" that Abe survives the attack and condemned the shooting in "the strongest of terms".

He added that all government ministers have been ordered back to Tokyo but said no decision had been made about amending the election schedule.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says the shooting of his predecessor and mentor Shinzo Abe is "absolutely unforgivable".

Kishida is speaking to reporters at his official residence in Tokyo after rushing back to the capital from Yamagata, where he had been campaigning.

“Currently doctors are doing everything they can,” he said. “At this moment, I am hoping and praying that former PM Abe will survive this."

He condemned the shooting as a "barbaric and malicious" act and said that it "cannot be tolerated".

"We will do everything we can," he added.

More now from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has been speaking in Tokyo in the wake of the attack on Shinzo Abe.

In an emotional speech, he condemns the shooting as a “heinous act.”

He says that while the shooter's motives remain unknown, the link with the ongoing election campaign cannot be ignored.

“Elections are being held. This is the very foundation of democracy and such an incident took place," he said.

"It is barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated. We will do everything we can, and I would like to use the most extreme words available to condemn this act.”

With inputs from BBC