Thousands Of Mourners Gather In Tokyo To Bid Farewell To Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Topline

Thousands of people lined the streets and several dozen dignitaries gathered in Tokyo Tuesday to pay their final respects to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated by a gunman during an election campaign event last week.

Key Facts

Abe’s funeral service took place at the Zojoji Temple—a Buddhist temple and a key Tokyo landmark—and was marked by his widow Akie serving as the chief mourner, Kyodo News reported.

A small number of dignitaries attended the ceremony at the temple including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Japanese lawmakers.

The sidewalks outside the temple were lined with hundreds of people who wanted to pay their respects to the deceased former leader.

After the funeral, a convoy of vehicles, including the hearse carrying Abe’s body, drove through several key locations in Tokyo including the prime minister’s office, the parliament building and the headquarters of his Liberal Democratic Party,

Key Background

Abe was assassinated at an election campaign event in the western Japanese city of Nara. The former prime minister was shot twice while delivering a speech in support of a local candidate running in the Japanese Parliament’s Upper House election. Police immediately apprehended the suspected shooter—a 41-year-old local man named Yamagami Tetsuya who previously served in the Japanese Navy—and also recovered a handmade gun. The sudden death of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister was mourned by leaders across the world, including President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who called Abe a “true friend.”. The shooting also sent shockwaves across Japan where shootings are extremely rare and political violence is even rarer.