Mourners yesterday lined the streets of central Tokyo to bid farewell to assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, as his hearse was driven past political landmarks after a private funeral.
The nation’s longest-serving prime minister was gunned down on Friday while campaigning, in a crime that rattled Japan and prompted an outpouring of international condemnation and grief.
His funeral was held at Tokyo’s Zojoji temple, with relatives, foreign dignitaries and close acquaintances in attendance, including Vice President William Lai (賴清德).
Photo: AFP
Elsewhere in the temple compound, thousands of well-wishers lined up in the humid heat to pay their respects before a photograph of the late leader, who held office until 2020.
“I can’t get over my sadness, so I came here to lay flowers,” said consultant Tsukasa Yokawa, 41, describing Abe as “a great prime minister who did a lot to elevate Japan’s presence” globally.
After the service, a hearse carrying Abe’s body departed for a final tour of some of the political landmarks he served in: the parliament, the prime minister’s office and the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Photo: AFP
Residents gathered along the route, while staff and officials, including ministers and senior LDP figures, stood somberly outside each venue. They pressed their hands together and bowed their heads in respect as the car arrived.
Abe’s widow, Akie, sat in the front of the hearse — carrying her husband’s mortuary tablet inscribed with his posthumous Buddhist name — and bowed back.
Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi, Abe’s brother, called the killing “an act of terrorism.”
“I’ve lost my brother. At the same time, Japan has lost an irreplaceable leader,” he wrote on Twitter yesterday. “My brother loved Japan and risked his life to be a politician and protect this nation.”
In a speech at the funeral, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso recalled drinking and playing golf with his close ally.
“You were supposed to read an eulogy for me. This is very painful,” he said, according to Japanese media.
Abe was campaigning in the western city of Nara when he was shot.
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.
Yamagami approached him from behind in broad daylight, in circumstances that have raised questions about security.
Japanese National Public Safety Commission Chairman Satoshi Ninoyu pledged to hold a full review of any security failings.
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi said that more than 1,700 condolence messages had been received from 259 countries, territories and international bodies.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled stop in Tokyo to pay tribute to Abe, describing him as a “man of vision.”
Lai also traveled to Japan, attending a wake for Abe at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo on Monday evening and the private funeral at Zojoji yesterday.
He was scheduled to return to Taiwan last night.
Taiwanese and Japanese authorities have downplayed Lai’s visit, saying he had traveled to Tokyo in a personal capacity.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said its embassy in Japan had lodged “stern representations” with the government there about Lai attending the event, saying his visit to Japan was a “political trick that will not succeed.”
Hayashi told a press conference that Lai attended Abe’s funeral as a private citizen, adding that Tokyo’s policy toward Taipei had not changed.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said the ministry would not comment on Lai’s “private itinerary” in Tokyo.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus director-general Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said that while Taiwan and Japan have said that Lai visited Japan in a personal capacity, there is no doubt that his status as vice president makes him the envoy of Taiwan.
DPP caucus secretary-general Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) added that Taiwan’s relations with Japan are deep-rooted and the two nations share a close bond — like close friends, or one might even say family.
That both Taiwan’s ruling and opposition parties have paid tribute to Abe shows that the late prime minister was Taiwan’s best friend and Taiwan-Japan relations are a very important link in the nation’s diplomatic policy, Chen said.
Additional reporting by CNA, Reuters and Hsieh Chun-lin
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in
RSS