About 15,000 people have visited the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA) over the past week to pay their respects to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated during a campaign event in Nara, Japan, on July 8, Japan’s de facto embassy in Taiwan said late on Sunday.
The association wrote on Facebook that 12,750 people visited its Taipei headquarters from Monday last week to Sunday to mourn the death of Abe, while another 1,693 paid their respects at its Kaohsiung branch from Monday last week to Wednesday.
Memorial venues were set up at both locations for people to pay their respects to Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
Photo: AFP
The Facebook post included a time-lapse video that recorded the mourners at the venues over the week.
In the post, JTEA Representative Hiroyasu Izumi said he believed that such an outpouring of support could only be seen in Taiwan.
“We have seen parents taking their young children, elderly people in wheelchairs, people traveling from afar and taking a day off work, just to personally visit our offices to pay their respects,” he said.
“I feel deeply gratified to see that Abe’s goodwill toward Taiwan has been well received by many Taiwanese,” he said.
Izumi said Taiwanese have always been ready to offer help to Japan when it is struck by a major misfortune.
He thanked every single mourner, adding that he hopes Japan and Taiwan will continue to take care of each other, which was Abe’s life-long pursuit.
Abe died on July 8 at the age of 67 after he was shot while campaigning for the Japanese House of Councilor elections, held on July 10. Police arrested a 41-year-old suspect who allegedly shot Abe with a homemade shotgun.
Abe was a vocal supporter of Taiwan and helped reinforce Taiwan-Japan relations during his time as prime minister and after leaving the post.
To show Taiwan’s respect for Abe, all government agencies and public schools in Taiwan flew the national flag at half-mast on Monday last week.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS