Published on : 12/07/2022 – 05:32
Four days following his assassination by bullets, Japan paid tribute on Tuesday to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose funeral was held in a temple in Tokyo. The hearse carrying his remains must then parade through the center of the capital.
Japan pays tribute on Tuesday July 12 to the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abea polarizing figure who dominated the country’s political life for decades before being shot last Friday during an election campaign event at the age of 67.
Long lines of people dressed in black, mingling with others in informal attire carrying backpacks, formed outside Zojoji Temple in central capital Tokyo, where Shinzo Abe’s funeral is being held .
The ceremony will only be open to family and friends of the former leader. Several hundred people went to the temple Monday evening, despite the heat wave, to pay tribute to Shinzo Abe, the record longevity in the country as Prime Minister.
His assassination, by a man armed with a homemade weapon, shocked a nation where gun violence and political violence are extremely rare.
Following the funeral, the hearse carrying Shinzo Abe’s body will parade through central Tokyo. Black ribbons were added to Japanese flags erected in the heart of the capital.
Among the stages of the route, the building of the Parliament, where Shinzo Abe entered for the first time as an elected official in 1993, and the residence of the Prime Minister, occupied by Abe from 2012 to 2020.
Tributes
Tributes from the international community have multiplied. The head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, made an unexpected visit to Japan on Monday morning to offer the condolences of the administration of President Joe Biden.
Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Shinzo Abe in a video posted on Twitter by the Élysée following a visit to the Japanese Embassy in Paris. “Shinzo Abe served his people, his nation with a lot of courage, a lot of audacity, too,” said the French president. “I remember (…) the unforgettable visit that I was able to make in Japan in 2019 within the framework of the G20, but also on the bilateral level (…) I also lose a friend”, a- he added solemnly.
With Archyde.com
