A joint memorial service with foreign condolences, etc. will be held at a later date
More than 2,500 people, including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, attended the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who died in the attack on the 8th.
According to Japanese media such as NHK on the 12th, an official of the largest faction in the LDP, the Abe faction, said that politicians and ordinary citizens visited Tsuyae, the event on the eve of the funeral held at Jojoji, a temple in Minato-ku, Tokyo to pay their respects.
The truck carrying the body of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left his home in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo around 2:30 pm on the 11th and arrived at Jojoji Temple.
The resident, former Prime Minister Abe Akie, said that the funeral would be held only as a family funeral, but more than 2,500 people from the political and business circles, foreigners and citizens visited Tsuya.
Tsuyae, which started at 6 pm, also paid condolences to Secretary Yellen and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Ram Emanuel, who visited Japan to attend a meeting of the U.S. and Japanese finance ministers.
Kyodo News reported that Yellen was scheduled to visit Japan from the 12th to the 13th, but it seems that he was there a day earlier due to the death of Abe.
Also, Prime Minister Kishida, Vice President Taro Aso of the LDP, Toshimitsu Motegi, Secretary General of the National Democratic Party, Yuichiro Tamaki, President of the People’s Democratic Party, and Akio Toyota President Akio Toyota came to burn incense.
Taiwanese Vice President Rai Tsingde visited former Prime Minister Abe’s home to comfort the bereaved family.
Vice President Lai is the highest-ranking Taiwanese government official who has visited Taiwan since Japan established diplomatic ties with China in 1972 and cut ties with Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Vice President Lai left for Japan at the direction of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
The funeral will be held at Jojoji Temple on the followingnoon of the 12th as a family funeral in the presence of family, friends and acquaintances.
After the funeral, the carriage will go around the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Assembly to say goodbye and then head to the crematorium.
Since Abe was the longest-serving prime minister in history, having served as prime minister for a total of 8 years and 9 months on two occasions, according to custom, Prime Minister Kishida will serve as the funeral director and a memorial ceremony jointly hosted by the government and the LDP will be held.
It is expected that a large number of condolences from not only domestic but also foreign governments will attend the joint memorial service.
The South Korean government plans to send a condolence delegation to Japan, consisting of Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, National Assembly Vice Chairman Jeong Jin-seok, and senior lawmakers.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed by Tetsuya Yamagami, a former Self-Defense Forces member, during a street campaign in Nara City around 11:30 a.m. on the 8th.
/yunhap news
