Shinzo Abe: Japanese mourners pay last respects to ex-PM at funeral
Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Tokyo to pay their last respects to ex-Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
A hearse bearing Abe’s body made its way past several landmarks before arriving at the Kirigaya funeral hall in the Shinagawa ward of Tokyo.
The private funeral, which was only open to friends and close family, took place at the Zojoji temple earlier.
The 67-year-old was shot dead last Friday while delivering a campaign speech in Nara in southern Japan.
Across Tokyo, flags are flying at half mast and outside the temple, a long line of mourners stretched over two blocks, many of them carrying bouquets of flowers.
Some stood with their heads bowed in prayer, some were in tears and others shouted “Thank you Abe” or “Goodbye Abe” as the motorcade drove past.
The late prime minister’s widow and chief mourner, Akie Abe, sat in the front seat of the hearse which carried Abe’s body.
Many mourners said that Abe gave them a sense of safety and security – one woman said that during the early days of Covid, she felt the Abe-led government had dealt with the crisis effectively.
The hearse went past the headquarters of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and made its way to the prime minister’s residence, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other lawmakers received the motorcade.
It then passed by the parliament building, where Abe first entered as a lawmaker in 1993, before arriving at the funeral hall.