With prayers, flowers and flags draped in black ribbons, thousands of mourners gathered today in the streets of Tokyo to bid their final goodbye to Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
A family funeral was held at a temple days after Mr Abe was killed by a gunman who opened fire as he was delivering a campaign speech in Nara in southern Japan.
Although the funeral rites were attended by only close family members, prime minister Fumio Kishida and senior party leaders, the pavements outside the Zojoji temples were packed with crowds of people, some dressed in black, wanting to pay their final respect to the longest-serving prime minister.
In the attack that stunned the nation, the 67-year-old collapsed bleeding last Friday after being shot by a gunman. Though Mr Abe was airlifted to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead, as doctors shared that he suffered major damage to his heart, along with two neck wounds that damaged an artery.
Police at the shooting scene in Nara arrested Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, a former member of Japan’s navy on suspicion of murder.
“There was a sense of security when he was the prime minister in charge of the country,” said Keiko Noumi, a 58-year-old teacher, one of many who came to offer prayers and flowers to a large photograph of Mr Abe set up inside the temple grounds showing him in a simple white shirt, laughing with his hands on his hips. “I really supported him, so this is very unfortunate.”
Others queued in front of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party headquarters to pay their tributes.
People shouted, clapped and waved as a motorcade including a hearse carrying his body departed from a Tokyo temple early afternoon on a procession through the city before reaching the crematorium.
“Thank you very much for your work for our country!” a man shouted.
“He was my favourite prime minister,” said Akihito Sakaki, 58 and self-employed. “So I came here to say goodbye.”
The procession passed through Tokyo’s political heart of Nagatacho and landmarks such as the parliament building that the slain leader first entered as a young lawmaker in 1993.
Prime minister Kishida quietly waited along with a group of cabinet ministers in front of the office from which Mr Abe led the nation as the country’s longest-serving prime minister from 2012 to 2020.
Mr Kishida bowed his head with a set of Buddhist rosary beads around his hands as the hearse slowly passed. Mr Abe’s widow, Akie, bowed back from the front seat.
Tributes poured in from international leaders, with US secretary of state Antony Blinken making a brief stop en route to the United States from Southeast Asia on Monday morning to pay his respects. US treasury secretary Janet Yellen and Taiwan vice president William Lai, on a private visit as a family friend, also joined mourners.
French leader Emmanuel Macron sent his condolences in footage posted on the country’s official presidential Twitter account. “I remember all our meetings and work together, especially during my visit [to Japan] in 2019,” he said. “I’ve lost a friend. He served his country with great courage and audacity.”
Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida, officials and employees offer prayers towards a hearse carrying the body of late former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe
According to Kyodo news agency, nearly 2,000 condolence messages arrived from nations around the world.
Additional reporting from the wires
People wait in line before their prayers to pay respect for former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe at Zojoji temple before his funeral in Tokyo
Taiwan’s vice president William Lai leaves after a funeral of the late former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe
