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Japan said goodbye to Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest prime minister, who was assassinated last week on Tuesday.
Abe’s (67) funeral began at Zoujoji Temple in Tokyo. Hundreds of black-clad mourners gathered there to pay homage.
After a funeral attended only by family and close friends, a hearse carried Prime Minister Abe’s body to downtown Tokyo, the capital.
The procession passed near the building of the Federal Parliament, where Prime Minister Abe was first elected in 1993. He later served as parliamentary leader or prime minister twice, including a long-term mission from 2012 to 2020.
Trump Mornes Japan’s Shinzo Abe, “Unparalleled Unification” “Who cherished his magnificent country”
The death of Prime Minister Abe shook the world. He is a huge politician, and gun violence in Japan is rare.
After the death was announced on Friday, President Joe Biden said, “I was astonished, indignant, and deeply saddened.”
“This is a tragedy for Japan, and for everyone who knows him,” Biden said.
Japan’s Shinzo Abe Dead: Biden’s “Surprise, Indignation” Over Assassination
“He was the champion of the alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people,” the president added.
Former President Donald Trump also said death was “really bad news for the world.”
“His murderer will be captured and hopefully dealt with promptly and rigorously,” he wrote.
Japan’s Shinzo Abe shot dead: World leader pays homage to former Prime Minister
“Few people know what the great man and leader Shinzo Abe is, but history will teach and be kind to them,” Trump added.
“He was a unity like no other, but above all he was a man who loved and cherished his magnificent country, Japan. Shinzo Abe would be greatly missed. A person like him. Will never be! “
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Officials said Abe was killed during a Friday campaign rally when Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, shot him with a homemade firearm in the daytime.