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STORY: EDITORS NOTE: ONE STILL FROM THE SCENE IN THE EDIT SHOWS BLOOD.

This was the scene after Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot on Friday (July 8) while delivering a speech in the city of Nara.

That's according to a government spokesperson and public broadcaster NHK.

The network said 67-year-old Abe was airlifted to hospital and appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest, after being initially conscious and responsive.

His current condition is unknown.

A photograph from local media showed Abe lying face-up on the street by a guardrail, with blood on his white shirt.

One reporter on the scene said two consecutive bangs could be heard during Abe's speech.

Local media reported he had been shot on the left side of his chest and apparently in the neck.

Local media also reported that authorities have arrested a 41-year-old man.

Political violence is rare in Japan, a country with strict gun regulations.

Abe was reportedly making a stump speech outside a train station ahead of Sunday's upper house election, where analysts say Abe's protege and current prime minister Fumio Kishida hopes to emerge from Abe's shadow and define his premiership.

Local media reported Kishida suspended his election campaign after the shooting and was returning to the capital Tokyo.

Japan's government said there were no plans to postpone Sunday's election.

Abe is Japan's longest-serving prime minister, serving two terms before stepping down in 2020 citing ill health.

But he has remained a dominant presence over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, controlling one of its major factions.