Japan bids farewell to Abe at funeral in Tokyo

A private funeral was held Tuesday for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose assassination last week shocked a nation and brought renewed attention to his key policies such as bolstering the nation’s defenses.

The funeral in Tokyo was for the family and associates of Abe, who was fatally shot at close range Friday by a gunman who approached from behind as the former premier was making an election campaign speech outside a train station in the western city of Nara. Larger-scale memorial services are to be held at a later date.

Crowds of people lined the streets outside a Buddhist temple in Tokyo where the ceremony took place to pay their respects and view the hearse carrying Abe’s body - where his wife Akie sat in the front seat.

Abe’s body was driven through the streets of Tokyo on a journey to the Prime Minister’s Office, where current premier Fumio Kishida and scores of officials were waiting to pay their respects. The procession then went past the parliament, where Abe served for more than 25 years. 

A day earlier, thousands of politicians, diplomats and business leaders attended a wake for Abe at the temple. Mourners have also flooded places including his ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s headquarters in Tokyo and the spot where he was gunned down, offering notes and flowers for the politician who shaped the country’s economy and its diplomatic course during his record-long run in office that ended in 2020.