Tokyo, April 17 (Reuters): The mayor of Nagasaki, Japan was shot today, a city official said, and media reports said he was unconscious and his heart had stopped.

Itcho Ito, 61, seeking re-election for a fourth term in Sunday’s election, was shot by a man in front of a train station just before 1100 GMT, the official said. Japanese media said that Ito, 61, was taken to hospital by ambulance after being shot twice in the back after he had come back from campaigning.

Police had arrested and confiscated a revolver from Tetsuya Shiroo, 59, the “acting head” of gang affiliated with Japan’s largest organised crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi Gumi, the reports said.

The motive for the shooting was unclear but Kyodo news agency quoted police as saying the suspect had told them he had had “trouble” with the city over bidding for public works contracts.

Public broadcaster NHK reported that Ito’s lungs and heart had stopped functioning. The mayor had appeared pale and was not responding to paramedics.