Private funeral held for slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
JAPAN: Family and friends of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gathered at a Tokyo temple Tuesday for a private funeral, as mourners outside condemned the leader’s “despicable” murder.
Abe was shot at close range on Friday while giving a campaign speech in the city of Nara, days ahead of upper house elections that saw his ruling party strengthen its hold on power.
The murder suspect, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, is in custody and has told police he targeted Abe because he believed the politician was linked to an organisation he resented.
Local Police have already admitted flaws in their guarding programme for the high-profile politician, who was approached from behind and shot in broad daylight.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday that over 1,700 condolence messages had been received from 259 countries, territories and international bodies.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a previously unscheduled stop in Tokyo to pay tribute to Abe, describing him as a “man of vision.”
Abe was the scion of a political family and became the country’s youngest post-war Prime Minister when he took power for the first time in 2006, aged 52. He resigned in 2020 at the end of his second stint after suffering health problems. He was lauded for his economic strategy, dubbed “Abenomics” and his efforts to put Japan firmly on the world stage, including by cultivating close ties with former US President Donald Trump.
– THE BANGKOK POST