With prayers, flowers and flags draped in black ribbons, Japan on Tuesday bid farewell to Shinzo Abe, the polarizing figure who dominated politics as the country’s longest-serving prime minister, before he was shot dead at a campaign rally last week.
Amid a heavy police presence, men in black jackets and women in black entered Zogoji Temple in central Tokyo for a private funeral. Crowds lined neighbouring roads in the sweltering summer heat.
Hundreds of people flocked to the temple on Monday evening to bid farewell to Abe, who died at the age of 67.
His killing on Friday by an unemployed man using a homemade pistol sent shockwaves through a country where gun crime and political violence are rare.
The ceremony, scheduled for 01:00 pm (04:00 GMT), was closed to the media and limited to family and close friends.
After the ceremony, the carriage carrying Abe’s body will pass through central Tokyo. The procession will pass Nagatacho, the political heart of the capital, which includes such landmarks as the parliament building that Abe first entered as a young lawmaker in 1993, after the death of his political father, and the office from which he led the country over two terms as prime minister, from 2012 to 2020.
From the early morning, long lines of black-clothed citizens mingled with others in casual clothes outside the temple.
Kiko Nomi, a 58-year-old teacher, was one of many who came to pray and lay flowers in front of a large picture of Abe on the temple grounds, laughing and wearing a white shirt.
“There was a sense of security when the prime minister was in charge of the country,” she said.
“I really supported him, so it’s very unfortunate,” she added.
Others lined up in front of the headquarters of the ruling Free Democratic Party.
Tributes poured in from international leaders as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made a brief stop on his way to the United States from Southeast Asia on Monday morning to pay his respects. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also joined the mourners.
As per sources, nearly 2,000 messages of condolence have arrived from countries around the world.
French President Emmanuel Macron sent his condolences in a video clip posted on the presidency’s official Twitter account after he visited the Japanese embassy in Paris.
Sources citing investigators added that the killer, who was arrested at the scene and identified by police as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, believed that Abe promoted a religious group to which his mother made a “big donation.”
