Japan bids emotional farewell to slain ex-PM Abe

Cries of "Abe-san" and "thank you" rang out as Japan bade an emotional farewell to former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was killed at a campaign rally last Friday and cremated yesterday.

Crowds lined the streets from Tokyo's Zojoji Temple, where Mr Abe's wake and funeral were held, to the halls of power in Nagatacho, as a hearse carrying his body made a brief procession through the city.

The assassination of Mr Abe, 67, Japan's longest-serving prime minister who shaped the country's economy and diplomacy, sent shock waves around the world and triggered an outpouring of grief.

A 41-year-old man, Tetsuya Yamagami, was apprehended moments after the shooting and is in police custody.

At the private funeral yesterday for family and close friends, Mr Abe's widow Akie, 60, delivered a tearful eulogy, said media reports citing attendees and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) officials.

Recounting the final minutes she spent with her husband after rushing to the city of Nara, where Mr Abe had been campaigning for an LDP candidate, she said: "When I squeezed his hand, it felt like he squeezed mine back. I told him that I knew he was in pain, that it was OK to let go."

She added: "It still feels like a dream. He always protected me. It was thanks to him that I have been able to experience so much.

"The winter of my husband's life may have come. He left behind a lot of unfinished business as a politician, but hopefully the seeds that he planted will finally sprout."

Mrs Abe placed a flower by the coffin and laid her cheek against her husband's for a few seconds after her eulogy, reports said.

Mr Taro Aso, who served as Mr Abe's deputy prime minister and finance minister from 2012 to 2020, praised him for his "sense and his courage that expanded Japan's presence in the world".

On a personal note, the 81-year-old also recounted how the two had bonded over golf and rounds of alcohol. He said: "You were supposed to deliver my condolences. It's very hard for me to be reading yours."

In a Twitter message before the funeral, Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi - Mr Abe's younger brother who was adopted by an uncle - said: "I lost my brother. At the same time, Japan lost an irreplaceable leader... My brother loved Japan and bet his life on politics to protect the country."

Also at the funeral was Taiwanese Vice-President William Lai, who was in Japan in his personal capacity as a "close friend of many years" of the Abes.

Nonetheless, the visit to Japan by Taipei's highest-ranking official in decades prompted China to lodge "stern representations" and say that Taiwan's "political tricks will never succeed".

After the funeral rites, the hearse departed the temple with a tearful Mrs Abe in the passenger seat for a tour through political landmarks before the last stop: a crematorium in Shinagawa ward.

As Mrs Abe held on to her husband's mortuary tablet inscribed with his posthumous Buddhist name, she bowed to the public in acknowledgement. Some were in tears, while others waved and applauded the slain leader on his final journey through Tokyo.

The motorcade passed by the LDP headquarters, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and National Diet building. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, waiting at the PMO, blinked back tears as he bowed, clasping a set of Buddhist rosary beads.

On Monday, about 2,500 politicians, business leaders and ambassadors paid their respects at an overnight vigil, known as tsuya, at the temple.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako sent flowers and dispatched a chamberlain to burn incense at the wake, said the Imperial Household Agency.

At a temporary memorial site at the temple, mourners laid white chrysanthemums and offered prayers.

Public memorial services are likely to be held although no details are as yet available.