The Fort Worth Press - Japan mourns as funeral for former PM Abe held in Tokyo

USD -
AED 3.673042
AFN 68.858766
ALL 88.802398
AMD 387.151613
ANG 1.799401
AOA 927.769041
ARS 961.242518
AUD 1.46886
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.70397
BAM 1.749922
BBD 2.015926
BDT 119.312844
BGN 1.750011
BHD 0.376236
BIF 2894.376594
BMD 1
BND 1.290118
BOB 6.899298
BRL 5.418691
BSD 0.998434
BTN 83.448933
BWP 13.198228
BYN 3.267481
BYR 19600
BZD 2.012526
CAD 1.35775
CDF 2871.000362
CHF 0.849991
CLF 0.033646
CLP 928.403346
CNY 7.051904
CNH 7.043005
COP 4153.983805
CRC 518.051268
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 98.657898
CZK 22.451404
DJF 177.79269
DKK 6.68204
DOP 59.929316
DZD 132.138863
EGP 48.452557
ERN 15
ETB 115.859974
EUR 0.894904
FJD 2.200804
FKP 0.761559
GBP 0.75061
GEL 2.730391
GGP 0.761559
GHS 15.696327
GIP 0.761559
GMD 68.503851
GNF 8626.135194
GTQ 7.71798
GYD 208.866819
HKD 7.790095
HNL 24.767145
HRK 6.799011
HTG 131.740706
HUF 352.160388
IDR 15160.8
ILS 3.777515
IMP 0.761559
INR 83.48045
IQD 1307.922874
IRR 42092.503816
ISK 136.260386
JEP 0.761559
JMD 156.86485
JOD 0.708504
JPY 143.90404
KES 128.797029
KGS 84.238504
KHR 4054.936698
KMF 441.350384
KPW 899.999433
KRW 1332.490383
KWD 0.30507
KYD 0.832014
KZT 478.691898
LAK 22047.152507
LBP 89409.743659
LKR 304.621304
LRD 199.686843
LSL 17.527759
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.741198
MAD 9.681206
MDL 17.42227
MGA 4515.724959
MKD 55.129065
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999955
MOP 8.014495
MRU 39.677896
MUR 45.880378
MVR 15.360378
MWK 1731.132286
MXN 19.416804
MYR 4.205039
MZN 63.850377
NAD 17.527759
NGN 1639.450377
NIO 36.746745
NOK 10.482404
NPR 133.518543
NZD 1.603206
OMR 0.384512
PAB 0.998434
PEN 3.742316
PGK 3.9082
PHP 55.653038
PKR 277.414933
PLN 3.82535
PYG 7789.558449
QAR 3.640048
RON 4.449904
RSD 104.761777
RUB 92.515546
RWF 1345.94909
SAR 3.752452
SBD 8.306937
SCR 13.046124
SDG 601.503676
SEK 10.170404
SGD 1.291304
SHP 0.761559
SLE 22.847303
SLL 20969.494858
SOS 570.572183
SRD 30.205038
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.736188
SYP 2512.529936
SZL 17.534112
THB 32.927038
TJS 10.61334
TMT 3.5
TND 3.025276
TOP 2.342104
TRY 34.124875
TTD 6.791035
TWD 31.981038
TZS 2725.719143
UAH 41.267749
UGX 3698.832371
UYU 41.256207
UZS 12705.229723
VEF 3622552.534434
VES 36.777762
VND 24605
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.797463
XAF 586.90735
XAG 0.03211
XAU 0.000381
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.739945
XOF 586.90735
XPF 106.706035
YER 250.325037
ZAR 17.38465
ZMK 9001.203587
ZMW 26.433141
ZWL 321.999592
  • BCC

    -7.1900

    137.5

    -5.23%

  • NGG

    0.7200

    69.55

    +1.04%

  • GSK

    -0.8200

    40.8

    -2.01%

  • RELX

    -0.1400

    47.99

    -0.29%

  • RYCEF

    0.0200

    6.97

    +0.29%

  • BTI

    -0.1300

    37.44

    -0.35%

  • CMSC

    0.0300

    25.15

    +0.12%

  • RBGPF

    58.8300

    58.83

    +100%

  • SCS

    -0.3900

    12.92

    -3.02%

  • JRI

    -0.0800

    13.32

    -0.6%

  • RIO

    -1.6100

    63.57

    -2.53%

  • CMSD

    0.0100

    25.02

    +0.04%

  • BCE

    -0.1500

    35.04

    -0.43%

  • AZN

    -0.5200

    78.38

    -0.66%

  • BP

    -0.1200

    32.64

    -0.37%

  • VOD

    -0.0500

    10.01

    -0.5%

Japan mourns as funeral for former PM Abe held in Tokyo
Japan mourns as funeral for former PM Abe held in Tokyo / Photo: © AFP

Japan mourns as funeral for former PM Abe held in Tokyo

Family and friends of assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe gathered at a Tokyo temple Tuesday for a private funeral, as mourners outside condemned the leader's "despicable" murder.

Text size:

Abe was shot at close range on Friday while giving a campaign speech in the city of Nara, days ahead of upper house elections that saw his ruling party strengthen its hold on power.

The murder suspect, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, is in custody and has told police he targeted Abe because he believed the politician was linked to an organisation he resented.

Although the funeral rites were for family members and close associates only, long lines of people, some dressed in black, came to the Zojoji temple to pay respects to Japan's longest-serving prime minister.

"I can't get over my sadness, so I came here to lay flowers and say a prayer," consultant Tsukasa Yokawa, 41, told AFP, describing Abe as "a great prime minister who did a lot to elevate Japan's presence" on the global stage.

"It's despicable," said Yuko Takehisa, a 51-year-old assistant nurse who lives in Kanagawa, near Tokyo.

"More could have been done to prevent it," she said, complaining that "no one reported" Yamagami to police despite reports he had test-fired a handmade gun before the attack.

Satoshi Ninoyu, the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, a cabinet position overseeing national police, pledged Tuesday to hold a full review of any security failings.

Local police have already admitted flaws in their guarding programme for the high-profile politician, who was approached from behind and shot in broad daylight.

Police searches of the suspect's home have found pellets and other possible components for building a gun like the crude weapon used in the attack, Japanese media reported Tuesday, citing unnamed investigative sources.

- Condolences pour in -

Yamagami spent three years in Japan's navy and reportedly told investigators that his mother's large donations to a religious organisation had caused the family financial troubles.

The Unification Church, a global religious movement founded in Korea in the 1950s, said on Monday that Yamagami's mother was a member, but did not comment on any donations she may have made.

Abe's murder sparked shock and outrage in Japan and worldwide, and an outpouring of condolence messages.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday that over 1,700 condolence messages had been received from 259 countries, territories and international bodies.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a previously unscheduled stop in Tokyo to pay tribute to Abe, describing him as a "man of vision."

And Taiwanese Vice President William Lai was also in Tokyo for a surprise trip, Taiwanese media said.

The visit has the potential to anger Beijing, though Hayashi said Lai was travelling in a private capacity and there was no change to Japan's policy on working non-governmental relations with Taiwan.

After Tuesday's funeral, Abe's body will be driven past some of Tokyo's political landmarks, including the prime minister's residence -- known as the Kantei -- and the country's parliament, the Diet.

Public memorials are expected to be held at a later date, with suggestions that top foreign political leaders could attend, but no details have yet been announced.

Abe was the scion of a political family and became the country's youngest post-war prime minister when he took power for the first time in 2006, aged 52.

He resigned in 2020 at the end of his second stint after suffering health problems.

His hawkish, nationalist views were divisive, particularly his desire to reform the pacifist constitution, and he weathered a series of scandals, including allegations of cronyism.

But he was lauded by others for his economic strategy, dubbed "Abenomics", and his efforts to put Japan firmly on the world stage, including by cultivating close ties with former US president Donald Trump.

J.P.Estrada--TFWP