Japanese bid their final goodbye to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as his funeral was held yesterday at a temple days after his assassination. About 1,000 people, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, governing party leaders, and foreign officials, attended the funeral at the temple.
Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, remained influential even after stepping down two years ago for health reasons. 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 organization he resented.
Hundreds of people filled sidewalks outside Zojoji temple in downtown Tokyo to bid farewell to Abe.
On Sunday, two days after Abe’s killing, his Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner won a landslide victory in elections for the upper house.
