Shinzo Abe, former Japanese prime minister, has died at the hospital where he was treated after he was shot while giving a campaign speech in the southern city of Nara, foreign media reported.

The information was confirmed by a senior Liberal Democratic Party official, according to the public broadcaster NHK.

The suspected attacker, reportedly a man in his 40s, was tackled at the scene and arrested, BBC reported.

Abe, 67, remains Japan's longest serving prime minister.