Expressing solidarity with the people of France, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday signed a book of condolences at the French Embassy's residency building in Tokyo as police near Paris hunted the gunmen behind a massacre at Charlie Hebdo magazine.
Also Friday afternoon, a group of journalists — both Japanese and foreign — paid respects at the Embassy's residency.
The journalists handed Ambassador Thierry Dana a letter signed by more than 80 individuals. The gesture was initiated by Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia editor of The Times of London.